


I Dream of Thorns

by Supernuetral_Detective



Category: Da Vinci's Demons
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Art, Eventual Romance, Feels, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, OTP Feels
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-06
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-03-29 03:23:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 45,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3880387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Supernuetral_Detective/pseuds/Supernuetral_Detective
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leonardo Da Vinci, an eccentric artist whose strange tastes and bad luck get him to falling in love with the most hated man in all of Rome; Girolamo Riario.<br/>*Fluff, angst, mostly platonic but extremely fluffy in later chapters*<br/>**This takes place pre-season 3, there are NO SPOILERS**</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"WAIT! WAIT! TAXI!" Leonardo Da Vinci called to a cab, running with his portfolio but the car sped away and he was left frustrated and worried. He looked to his watch, finding he was already half an hour late to an art exhibition and he was to be a part of. The wet streets combined with a cool spring evening gave little to calm the artist, whose mind didn't know how to stop. 

His phone began to ring and he picks it up, not paying attention to the caller ID, "Yes, yes what?!" he yells, waving again to a cab but it simply continued driving.

"Leo, you're late  _again"_ Vanessa says, hushed but annoyed.

"Yeah, I know, none of the cabs want to take me!" Leo says, waving for another but the light only goes out and he growls, horribly frustrated and angry. 

"Some of the guests are getting antsy, they're going to move on with the show if you don't get here right now!" Vanessa scolds and Leo slumps. "I know, I know, I seriously can't get there on time!". 

This time, Leo waves and a cab came. He put the phone between his ear and shoulder as he loaded his portfolio into the backseat and gave the driver his destination, promising fifty percent extra if he drove quicker.

"You found a cab" Vanessa states over the phone and for once, Leo breathed. "Yes, I did. I don't know how long it'll take me to get to the gallery but stall them. Get Nico to do some sort of dance to keep them entertained before I get there."

"You know I won't do that" Vanessa laughs and Leo smiled, "I'll be there as soon as I can, stall them for me." With that, he hung up and prepared the fare the cab driver. 

Leonardo Da Vinci is an eccentric character, as others would describe him. He paints in the Renaissance style, makes weird contraptions and experiments different things, especially things dealing with flight. He dreams of constructing a pair of wings that can make man take off into the air like a bird, a few of his designs work but need further fixing. Normally, a struggling artist would have help from his parents but in truth, he doesn't have any.

Leo's mother ran off when he was a baby and his father disowned him, saying he was an accident, something that shouldn't have happened. With Leo around calling him "Father" it would ruin the man's reputation in government, especially with a woman he did not know enough to get into bed with. But Leo didn't mind, he was used to being dumped around everywhere before he found refuge in an art studio. Verrocchio, the maestro, took Da Vinci under his wing, shined up his artistic abilities and opened him up to a world beyond what the eye sees.

While everyone fell in love with modern, simplistic art, Leo made modern art from the past. His Renaissance style became highly requested among students or people of importance who wanted to capture "Modern beauty of the past". This new career made money, enough to pay for Leo's lifestyle and his art supplies. Although Leo was content with his career and passion, he sought acceptance from his father.

He remembers being at an exhibition, much like the one he was going to now. It was city-hall planned so lots of important people would be there, some of the most admired models and critics would come and award the best artist with a big blue ribbon and a check for ten thousand euros. 

A month before the event, Leo immersed himself into research for something that the modern world would enjoy, which was Western themes of idealized perfection. Using this idea, he brought brush to canvas in his ancient style, combining both his research and way of painting. He concentrated on the details, adding symbolism, emphasizing different points and giving the painting a voice, speaking out towards the audience. 

The day came when Leo stood at his section, observing the other works presenting at tonight's exhibition. Submissions included pottery, paintings, absurd looking sculptures and photographs- some with no theme, and some looked like the artist tried too hard. Leo looked over his works one more time as the judges went down the line, observing, scrutinizing and criticizing the works before them. Leo hoped he'd put enough into his paintings, holding his breath when the judges came.

They walked a little, looking at the brush strokes, one of them turned to Leo, "You painted this?" and he nodded. "Wonderful concept, the modern ideal created in an ancient art are properly displayed here, I commend you for that". The three judges jotted down notes before moving on.

At the end of the judging, the artists came as a group before the stage. Many of these artists were dressed presentably while others were a contrast of enormous black boots with odd colored hair that hung like a curtain of oil on their faces. Leo looked down at himself, he wore a shirt with a bull skull on it, an aged leather jacket, crisp jeans and polished loafers.

"To be honest with you all, the decision was not a hard one to make" a judge's voice booms over the speaker. Leo always admired the judges for their brutal honesty and how they are not afraid to say what they think.

After a lengthy speech, talking about how well each artist did and how each deserve a chance at success, the judge finally raises the ribbon.

"Leonardo Da Vinci" he says. Leo was shocked, mainly because this was his first  _won_ exhibition, one with a prize and one he can be admired for. Leo went up on stage, shook hands with the judges and accepted his ribbon and certificate. He stood for a photo and noticed his father in the back of the hall. The man stood sulking and glaring at Leo as though he was disgusted. Leo waved but his father only turned his back.

There was a banquet after some speeches on congratulations and "Better luck next year" and Leo bumped into his father, they had no choice but to socialize.

"I won" Leo states.

"I know, I can see that" his father hissed.

"Shouldn't you be telling me something?" Leo asks, swishing his wine in his glass while his father fingered the stem of his flute.

"If you're looking for congratulations, from me you will not hear it".

" _Ser_ Piero Da Vinci, I am not looking for your praise, I only look for your recognition that a bastard like me made himself a name, something he can live off of, something he can sell" Leo says coyly.

"Here's a name: cocksucker- now go and sell that you filthy mongrel." with that, Leo's father tosses the champagne into Leo's face, storming away as it ran down the artist's face. 

Since then, Leo hasn't seen his father, he hoped to see him again, constantly urging for _some_ recognition and respect. The cab approached the exhibition hall, at which guests were only still arriving. Leo tipped and paid the driver as he had promised and jogged out with his portfolio. 

He took a rear entrance, going behind the mazes of bookshelves and into an empty lot which was for his use. Leo quickly folded out his stands and set his paintings, sketches, posing them and directing them towards the light as they should. He set down the last painting when an announcer says, "Now, if all artists could please stand at their exhibit and the audience to welcome tonight's judges". 

Three withering men stepped into the room, smiling and waving as guests clapped at each announcing of their names. Leo didn't bother to pay attention, he was set on the prize of another ten thousand euros. His rent was tight, getting only more expensive as he uses more of the utilities for ideas for art, for research and long nights painting where he needed full light. 

Very little people knew of Leo's recreational use of opium, like Nico, Zo and his father but Verrocchio and Vanessa don't have a clue. His opium "addiction" (he doesn't like to call it an addiction, to him it's a relaxing agent to help him calm down enough to work on a dead-lined project or to sleep) wasn't cheap. He get's pure opium from a seller that lived lavishly off drug money, he's never been caught and he probably never will with his extended anonymous network going everywhere on earth.  

Leo anxiously tapped his foot, watching as the judges went up on stage to formally introduce the event reminding everyone, "We are critical, what we think is terrible, what we think is horrible, what we think is a disgrace to art, we will disqualify from the competition". To this the audience tensed up, some looking to the artists whose paintings lacked so much and some turned to Leo. His over-eccentric colors, form and style of painting- to them- wasn't something a judge would appreciate but Leo smirked at them. There were first, second and third party winners! Second place got tickets to an art museum in third place winners got brand new art supplies, first place winner got all of the above including the money. 

A small group of violinists strummed lightly before putting up their bows and playing softly as the judges made their way down the line.

Leo was the last in the line and he bit his nail. He paid little attention to his surroundings, immersing himself into his own world. He admired the birds, how they flew, thinking about how he would construct a set of wings, what materials? Measurements? Surely people with larger masses would need bigger wings but would something like this ever be mass produced? A staccato note brought Leo back into the world, unaware of how much time has passed but the judges were two exhibits away. 

He stood straighter, fixing his shirt and making sure he looked presentable. The judges came up finally, with tape recorders to their lips as they spoke in quiet tones. Leo could barely hear them, he was told nothing and they moved on. 

"There will be a short interval, to which we await a decision" the announcer says. A small group of instruments now dominated the stage, all soloists as the percussion ushered the performers into Bolero's "Wiener Philharmoniker". The guests quietly chattered over champagne and the artists were dismissed, awaiting judgement. 

Leo went to a table of fruits to pick out an apple when Nico ran up from nowhere, "What're you gonna do with the money?" he asks. 

Nico was a bright young man who was lost, seeking guidance until he met Leonardo. Seeing Leo's personality, he took to Leo as an apprentice and then becoming a close friend and model/test subject. Leo's newest set of wings was tested on Nico, they proved to be inadequate and needed alterations. 

"I didn't even win the competition yet" Leo smiles, taking a bite from his apple, "Where's Vanessa?".

"She's tending to the drinks, she said she wants to talk to you, but after the show" Nico says and the two talk a while before the band stopped playing and came off the stage.

The announcer came back up, "Will the artists please return to their exhibits... and now, the judge's decision". 

The timpani gave a strong drum roll as the announcer pulled a small envelope from his breast pocket, "In third place... David Gole" the crowd applauded as a young man with pink hair and cargo pants bowed and said his quiet thank yous before going up on stage to receive his red ribbon.

"In second place... Patricio Fernaldi" the crowd erupted into louder cheers when a polished man went up on stage, bowing in respect and beaming. Leo doubted that this boy painted, he could just tell.

"And finally... in first place we have, Leonardo Da Vinci!" The crowd dimmed in cheers, not everyone appreciated Leo's art but he could hear supportive the cheers from Vanessa behind the bar and Zo somewhere off in a corner filled with women and drink. Leo said his polite 'thank yous' before accepting his ribbon and standing up on stage to overlook the massive audience that had accumulated.

The announcer, along with one of the judges, gave their praise but Leo wasn't paying attention. His eyes searched for his father but instead met that of a man all dressed in black, hair combed over his forehead in a side-sweep and eyes looking into Leonardo harshly but Leo didn't look away, he was intrigued. 

Something about him was  _attractive_. Both romantically but also psychologically, he is not the typical onlooker, but a predator. As Leo continued to stare, the man's eyes softened. At this, the man walks behind a wall of guests and disappears. Leo tries to follow him with his gaze but to no avail.

The judges dismiss everyone to dinner and Leo was to mingle among the people. Tables were set in the empty space where the audience sat and more upbeat music began to play as the lights darkened and alcohol was served.

The artists, for the safety of their pieces, tucked them back away into their portfolios and joined the fun. Leo went to find Vanessa, looking at the bar where she and Zo spoke.

"Congrats Leo, we all gained twenty euros" Vanessa laughs, showing bank notes. They've been betting with other people, getting richer, sure that Leo would win.

"That's like stealing other people's money" Leo says, patting Zo on the back and handing Nico a banknote.

"Who cares! We're making money, it's a business" Zo says.

"Leo, some bloke's been asking for you. Tall, black clothes, if looks could kill; he's in the definition" Vanessa says and Leo nods, "I saw someone like him in the audience but he's gone right now. I'll try to find him and see what he wants".

He was to walk away with his drink before Zo stops him and slaps a knife into his palm, "You never know" he says and turns back to talk with someone behind him.

Leo walked through the crowd, some people ate and others were up and dancing. He observed a few men kissing and some couples clinking glasses, his fascination with  _love_ was very recent.  _What makes people love?_ he asked himself one day when he lay in bed with no commissions to do, no duties for the day, and somewhat high from his most recent dose. 

He remembers his time with Lucrezia Donati, a relationship purely built on pleasures of the flesh. She was only there when she was in Florence, seeking out Leo for a night which was only spent in sex and almost nothing beyond that. Leo wouldn't say that he was ever in a relationship with Lucrezia, he didn't feel anything between them but the burning desire of skin on skin rather than bearing each other's hearts. 

Leo waved these thoughts away and continued on with his search for the mysterious man. Along the way he finished his drink and made way to a table with a bowl and ladle. He poured himself some of whatever was in the bowl and looked up to find the mysterious man in front of him. 

The man was about Leo's height, his eyes dark, his hair dark, everything about him was dark. His pale features gave Leo the idea of an inside job? Something with little labor. 

"My congratulations artista, you surely deserve an award for  _such_ artwork" the man's gruff voice says and Leo cocked his head, "Thanks, and who you might be?".

"My full name matters little to you, everyone knows me by Riario"

"Well hello Riario, I'm Leo, as you'd have probably guessed. You wanted to talk to me?" Leo stuck out a hand for a shake but Riario shook his head, "You must have been ill informed, I only wanted to give my congratulations". 

"Let me pour you a drink and we can continue talking" Leo took a cup but Riario put a warning hand on Leo's forearm.

"That won't be needed, I have work tonight".

"No no, I mean like, have a friendly talk, you're an interesting person, I'm an interesting person, we both can learn something new" Leo smiled and Riario held his lip to keep from smiling, "Fine, but I don't have anything interesting to say" Riario says. Leo pours them drinks and finds them an empty table. 

Leo set down their drinks and pulled the seat out for Riario, cringing at how the gesture's meaning could be perceived in so many ways. He plays it off, flipping his own chair so he sat with the backrest between his legs and his chin resting on his hands.

"Where do you work?" Leo asks Riario, who visibly took a breath and crossed a leg over.

"That is classified, all I can say is that it keeps everything in balance".

"So like a government job?" Leo asks and Riario motions with his hand, "You can call it that, yes". 

"What are you doing in an exhibition like this? I can tell you're not one for parties" Leo says, smiling and once more, he observes Riario holding back a smile, "Oh no, artista, I am very much one for parties but I am here for a task."

"Oh, so if 'god forbid' you step one foot on the dance-floor, your task is done with no money going into your pocket?" 

At this moment, the music began to climax into deeper bass. Leo quickly glanced at a clock and noticed how the night has aged, it was only nine o' clock and the party was just getting started. 

"No, I have already fulfilled my task but I do not wish to humiliate myself" Riario says and Leo laughs, "Well c'mon them, we can humiliate ourselves together".

Riario got up and shook hands with Leo, who was now confused, "Not tonight artista, we'll see each other again".

With that, Riario took out leather gloves and made towards the exit.

Leo chased after him, "When?" he asks and Riario smiles down at the artist, "For me to know and you to find out". 

Riario continued into the cool night as Leo's mind processes these events, his heart sinking.


	2. Chapter 2

Riario walked down the sidewalk, hearing the massive doors to the hall have slammed shut. He turned up his coat collar and continued down the wet sidewalk. He had his car waiting to drive him back to Rome, where his uncle may be unhappy with his encounter with Da Vinci. It was to play out much differently, but one of Riario's sources were wrong and he will have him tortured. 

Riario would say he is a dark shadow, never seen, never known to exist. It was only now did he show up to a public event, where he very publicly had to find Da Vinci.

At first, he'd asked the bartender, a young woman with long orange hair and a blue dress: _where is Leonardo Da Vinci_?

"Everyone just calls him Leo" she said as she poured the two a drink but Riario never picked up the glass.

"Yes, good, where might I find him?" It was then did the announcer ask for everyone to settle for the verdict and Riario quickly moved to the back of the hall where the lights wouldn't shine on him.

When Leonardo Da Vinci was called up, Riario stared, trying to analyze him until the artist started staring back at him, straight on. Riario felt a warmth inside the pit of his stomach, a type of excitement in which he rarely experienced. With the artist's attention on him, he thought about what art he made, never really seeing his exhibition but hoping to one day come back to Florence and view the masterpieces that would hang in the meeting rooms.

Riario couldn't look at Da Vinci anymore, so he flees behind a small gathering of men who clapped and cheered. He noticed the artist following with his eyes but Riario is the shadow, he is the night, no one sees him.

When Da Vinci was relieved into the crowd for the celebration, Riario followed him to the bar where him, the girl and two other men laughed and passed around bank notes before going into the crowd where Riario followed him. As Riario followed, his cell phone vibrated, the ID being one of his sources. It was a text describing the misinformation, to which Riario sent a threat. 

After pocketing his phone and following Da Vinci, he gave his congratulations at the punch-bowl. They introduce themselves and Riario wanted nothing more than to leave then, but he needed an idea of Leonardo's character.

Eccentric and _interested,_ he had observed. Putting that aside, the two sat down for brief introductions. Leonardo invited Riario to dance, to which Riario wished he could accept but due to his profession, things like average party behaviors and 'free' things were out of the question. He needed to remain professional. Riario only smiled and told Leonardo they would meet again...  _but not like this._

He left the artist greatly heartbroken and confused, something he felt was an accomplishment. He loved to see the defeat in people, it was one of the reasons his uncle hired him. 

He sat in his car, gently rubbing the thin steering wheel before flicking on the radio. He focused the signal on no set station, finding one playing classic rock. He let it softly play, tapping his hands against the steering wheel with the rhythm. 

Over the years he'd been working for his uncle, his personality had greatly changed. He'd trained himself to feel nothing, to have no mercy and his outward appearance showed this. He wore black, always, because it never failed in disguise and give him the air of a threat. His music hadn't changed however, he loved Rock and Metal; it made him feel like he had power and sets him in the right tone before encounters like this one. Growing up, he loved it, it made him feel important and now in this line of work- the purpose of music was to set the tone. And now, when he sat in this car, he listened to the music- finding himself feeling relaxed as he listened to  _Scorpions_ "Wind of Change". 

He revs up his car, feeling the engine erupt with energy and letting it sit idle a moment before willing himself for the near three hour drive back to Rome. 

 

"So you still talked to him?" Alessandro della Rovere, a wrinkled man said, pacing his lavish entryway. More people know him by his title and nickname of Pope Sixtus IV due to his God-like influence, similar to that of a pope and most specifically, Sixtus IV with which he shared a birth-name. Riario stood at the bottom of a tall staircase at the front of the modern home.

Sixtus paced, his hand coming to rub his temple, "You know that you were supposed to find out what plans he had made with Medici!" his voice reverberated off the massive hall and Riario shivers.

"I know but my sources weren't entirely accurate and I had already asked for him that night. I _thought_ that I might as well get to know him, find out his weaknesses" Riario says coolly.

"You get headaches from thinking so much, there's a reason why I am in charge here!" Sixtus booms. Riario opened his mouth to speak but thought against it, "Oh spit it out boy! You wanted to say something." 

"I was going to say that only God knows who's in charge, and you were chosen, to lead us into a greater future where we rule."

"Get your head out of the clouds! You are just speaking nonsense right now Girolamo, you are only my pet- you only carry out the orders  _I_ give. Now listen closely so you don't mess this one up too." Riario brought himself to full attention.

"Sometime this week, Leonardo Da Vinci will be called in by Lorenzo de Medici, find out from him what Medici is planning- I will give you funds to stay in Florence while you carry out this task. As soon as you find out, report back to me immediately! No phone calls, text messages, pigeons, nothing! Am I clear?" Riario nodded, the hairs on his neck standing up, "Good, you are relieved. I don't want to see you tomorrow morning, I want you in Florence!" With that final boom, Riario bows and leaves to his quarters. 

 

That night, as Riario got ready for bed, he thought about how he would go about finding out about the Medicis through Leonardo. He could wait until Leonardo would bring it up himself, or find out from one of his companions... but that would be too obvious. The idea struck when he toweled his face dry in the bathroom:  _he is going to earn Leo's trust *and then*he will find out._  

But he only has a week for this, he wonders if he could get extra time. His doubts were high but he will allow the week before calling for more time. Maybe Sixtus will like this plan? 

Riario lay in bed, staring at a blank ceiling as millions of questions ran through his mind before eventually falling asleep and into a nightmare. 

 

He was approaching a family cabin somewhere in the woods. He heard children giggling and a deep voice laughing with them. There was a fresh breeze and the heavy footsteps of others following behind him. Leading them was Alessandro della Rovere.

Upon entering the cabin, he sees a young girl; Amelia, playing with a man's enormous rings. This was the twin brother to Sixtus, Francesco della Rovere, playing with his daughters Amelia and Lucrezia. 

"Hand it over brother" Another voice says. He didn't bother to check, he knew it was his uncle; Alessandro della Rovere.

"Why should I?" Francesco della Rovere asks, standing up, and ushering his daughters out the door.

"Girolamo, please demonstrate" Alessandro says. Riario was in no control over his actions, there was a ringing in his ears and weight in his stomach. His hand went to his dagger, and his other hand to the little girls chin where he lifted it up and dragged the blade across her skin. 

A cry of anguish erupted, it was Lucrezia, hurrying to her sister and holding her lifeless body. Riario doesn't remember how but he went to apologize to Lucrezia but instead was spit on. 

In the shining sun, he saw the color from the dead girl's eyes drain and her chest falling to exhale her final breath. 

 

Bolting upright in bed, Riario looked quickly to his dusty alarm clock where the green numbers were blurred. He rubbed his eyes, the numbers coming into focus; it was only five thirty in the morning. Groaning, he collapsed back into bed, night after night he'd been having the same dream and with each he would wake up at some odd hour. 

Riario sat up and went to his small kitchen where he took a glass and filled the cup with cold water. He felt the water going down the warmth of his body ending in his stomach. The coolness felt right, waking him up better than caffeine. Setting the glass in his sink, he left into the bathroom where he stripped and took a shower. 

Riario knew that bathing in hot water wasn't healthy, but it was a habit. The pain from the scalding water helped him feel stronger, more awake and relax his muscles. 

He had noticed that people stopped recognizing him as a person, especially his uncle. There was a time when Riario went out for an assignment and returned with a broken arm. He was sobbing, holding his mangled arm. He'd got into a disagreement with a large dog that toppled him over, snapping  his arm. He continued to fight it off till he could get his gun and shoot the beast. It was a cruel thing to do, he knows, but his arm was in horrible condition. 

"Why are you crying!? You still didn't get the information I needed! You only cry at your mother's funeral, which has passed. Suck it up and go fix what you've broken" Sixtus had said. Riario drove himself to the nearest hospital, the doctors baffled at how he even managed to stay awake from the pain and blood loss from the animal attack. Riario was held at the hospital for observation for about week. During that time, no one came to visit him. He mostly stayed in the patient's cafeteria, eating cheap yogurt and rice cakes or watching the dreadful soap operas in the tv room. Even when in the hospital, he got calls from his uncle for a job. The first call, Riario picked up and snarled into the speaker. The second time he let the phone ring and then the fourth or fifth time he rejected the call.  When he was released, wearing a black cast and well rested, his uncle called for him right away. 

"You are not on vacation! Do you hear me boy!?" Riario only ended the call and went home. He didn't see Sixtus until his arm was healed and  _then_ did he get a verbal beating, but he didn't listen. No matter the circumstances, he remains with his uncle. He believes in spreading Rome, to build it stronger and in the meantime find his place in the world.  

As Riario dressed, he thought about how to lure Da Vinci. He didn't have any contact information about him and didn't know where to start looking. He figures he'll just drive to Florence and find out his whereabouts there. 

In the car, the sun rose to warm the day and Riario hooked his sunglasses over his ears. He had no particular thoughts, he was on autopilot, driving to Florence with the same station playing as the night before. His address and money sat in his overnight bag along with some clothing. Riario decided that if he was to befriend Da Vinci, he might as well look friendly. He had jeans and a few navy, black or white button downs and shirts. His usually worn crucifix sat at the bottom of the bag along with a pair of sneakers. 

If domestic was a feeling, that's how Riario felt. There was no mystery in his step, he was no longer the shadow, he was now  _just_ a person. Of course he has the task at hand; but he is no longer  _Count_ Riario, he is now just Girolamo Riario. 

Standing at a stoplight, Riario's phone buzzes for an incoming call. "Yes, what do you want?" He says coolly into the speaker.

"Da Vinci was just summoned to the Medici's office, he got a letter with his address on it, I've got pictures if you want 'em". Riario chewed on a piece of skin at his thumb, "Yes do send the pictures, I should be entering Florence in about an hour."

"Yes sir, thank you sir for sparing me last night. It was a stupid mistake" The man on the other end said. Riario didn't react, "Don't do it again" he says before hanging up. Shortly after the call ended, his phone pinged for the arrival of the photographs. 

Riario stood at a gas pump, scrolling through the photos with Da Vinci's address. It could come in handy, certainly after better introductions and Da Vinci would invite him over. It will take time, he knows. Riario paid for the gas with a card and continued to drive to Florence. 

 

Leo sat in a magnificent office. It was small, but very artistic with posters that had meaningful things to say and duplicate paintings of famous painters. Lorenzo de' Medici paced his office, wearing a burgundy suit with a matching tie and a dark button up. His leather pointed shoes clicked on the Italian marble flooring as he walked, stopping at his dark wooded desk, and turning to Leo. His advisor and brother stood closeby to chaperone the visit.

"You're an artist?" Medici asks, his voice echoing and breaking the silence within the room.

"Yes Mr. Medici." Leo responds shyly, a little intimidated by the massive structure. As spectacular as it was, it was odd to be called into one of Florence's most powerful enterprises to talk about some amateur's artwork.

"Please" Mr. Medici says, "Call me Lorenzo".

Leo nodded, "Alright".

"Do you know about the fued between Rome and Florence?" He asks Leo who only shook his head. "Well, you must know about the spring festival" Lorenzo laughs and Leo raised his head a little, "Of course I know about it, everyone in Florence is excited". 

"Well, that's in a week" Lorenzo smiles and looks at a calendar hanging on the nearby wall, "I want to know if you can make something for the fireworks show... Of course, you'll get paid a sum of perfectly good euros". Leo's heart lept in his chest.  _Getting paid to do artwork!_ This was splendid! He never enjoyed actual work, art was always something he found joy in doing. 

"Yes! I could definitely make something up for the fireworks show!" Leo says excitedly.

"Good, it needs to be done by the time the festival begins next week, you'll be paid after the show." Lorenzo offered his hand and Leo shook it with enthusiasm, "Mr. Medi-I mean, Lorenzo! I would like to show you something" Leo went up to the man and his advisor immediately jumped into action but Lorenzo put up a hand to wait. 

Leo flipped in his small sketchbook he kept on hand, to a page filled with doodles on how to enhance Florence. The advisor and brother watched over their shoulders as Lorenzo was allowed to flip through the pages himself. His eyes growing in interest of the sketches, many of them were magnificent and very practical. Some were fantastical war machines of Leo's somewhat morbid imagination.

Leo looked on as Lorenzo flipped to a page for his personal glider, "What's this?" Lorenzo asks and Leo explains, "A personal glider, I believe man can fly on their own and this is a starting point".

Lorenzo seemed impressed, "Finish the project for the festival and we can discuss making these sketches a reality" 

"But Lorenzo!" His brother spoke with anger, "This is madness! He's a fucking artist!" Lorenzo puts a hand on his brother's chest, "I know what I'm doing, and if you haven't noticed he is  _my_ client and none of your fucking business." 

Lorenzo turned to Leo with an apologetic grin, "We start at five hundred euros" and Leo wanted to collapse, "Thank you sir" He says and is told to leave. 

Leo nearly skipped down the sidewalk on his way to tell Vanessa, Nico and Zo the wonderful news. 

 

Riario rolled up into a parking garage where he paid the rental fee at the front desk. He held his duffel and coat as he walked outside into sunny Florence. It was a Sunday and the church bell's tolled in the distance for morning mass. Riario considered attending, but remembering he wasn't here on vacation. Following the address to his hotel, he found an expensive looking building with stern people at the front desk. Riario frowns, he was supposed to be anonymous. 

He walked to the front desk and politely asked the woman to refund the room booked for him. The woman wasn't as kind as Riario was to her, but no less, a large sum of money went to Riario's account. 

As he walked down a street, he caught sight of the orange haired girl from last night's art competition. He decides to follow her, being led into a bar. 

The bar was dark and cool, smelling strongly of alcohol and deep-fried things. The girl went behind the counter and began polishing a cup as she spoke to the boy also seen at last night's event. Riario approached the counter, staying to the far side of it as he took off his glasses and clipped them to the collar of his shirt.

"What can I- oh! You're that guy from last night" The girl says and Riario smiled warmly, "It seems that I am".

"Let me get you a drink, come sit with us." she urges and Riario shook his head, "Thank you but I'm looking Da Vinci, it's a business matter."

"Oh Leo left a while ago, I don't know where he is right now. I can give you his number and you can call him." The girl says and Riario nods, "That would be lovely".

As she wrote down the number Riario played some charm, to get her to cooperate in giving more information, "I never caught your name; what was it again?".

"Vanessa,  I never did yours."

"You only know me as Riario... Where did Da Vinci say he was going?".

"Around here we call him Leo but he never really said anything, he was opening his mail at the counter today and just ran out. He does that a lot." Vanessa smiles, a slight blush creeping onto her cheeks. "Ah, well, thank you and I'll give him a call right away."

"Are you sure you don't want to stay for a drink?" Vanessa urges and Riario shrugs, "Why not, one drink never hurt anyone". He moved his chair closer to the group and received a gin and tonic. The boy turned to him, introducing himself as "Nico". 

Nico seemed to be an open minded individual, asking questions and being polite. Riario could tell he was curious,  _no wonder he's with Da Vinci._ The bell at the front of the building chimed with the opening of the door. There stood Leonardo Da Vinci, his cheeks flushed with excitement and a wide smile on his face. 

"Vanessa, Vanessa, Vanessa, Vanessa!" He said quickly, jumping over a chair and stopping at the bar. "Guess what, guess what!" He shouts, his hands gripping her arms to her body, "What happened Leo?" She giggles.

"I've got a job!" Leo sings. Nico congratulates him with a few muted claps.

"With who?" Nico asks and Leonardo turns to the boy, "With Florence's most powerful and rich, Lorenzo de' Medici!".

The two further congratulate him, "I want a whiskey" he tells Vanessa who gives him a shot glass and pours the drink to the brim. Leonardo immediately downs the short and laughs.

Riario had crept back into a corner, observing from a distance. Leo was an excited character, something Riario knew he could use to his advantage. He put on his coat and left the pay for his gin and tonic.

"Oh Leo, there's someone here to see you." Riario hears Vanessa say as he began to walk out of the bar, he could tell she looked on both sides of the bar, "I swear he was right here" She says. Riario drew the door shut and went on his way.  

 

"Oh Leo, there's some here to see you" Vanessa says excitedly as she motioned to the side of the bar, "I swear, he was right here!" she says with confusion.

"But who?" Leo asks and Vanessa brushed some hair behind her ear, "That guy from last night... Riario?".

Leo's body suddenly went cold,  _he is here!_ He scoots the shot-glass towards Vanessa to take back. 

"If it makes you feel any better, I handed him your number. He promised to call you." Vanessa says, putting Leo's used glass under the counter. When she turned back up, Leo was gone and out the door.

 

Leonardo walked a while, constantly scolding himself that  _this was my chance and I fucking blew it!_. Leo was convinced that Riario didn't mean business when it meant he wanted to talk. 

He continued to walk for what seemed aimlessly, stopping at a coffee shop and buying the largest coffee. He takes his drink outside and sits at one of the tables, observing the oddities of domestic living. He sat there for what seemed like a very long time, his coffee neglected. Suddenly, Leo's phone buzzes. 

_Greetings Leonardo, you remember me from last night don't you? My congratulations on that again, and my congratulations on your new source of income. I promised we'd meet under better circumstances... xRiario_

Leo was overjoyed, his heart was pounding and every part of him sang. He immediately replies back: 

_Yes, yes. Hi Riario- I'd love to take you up on your promise -Leo_

Immediately there was a reply

_Excellent, where might I find you? xRiario_

_I'm at Pike's, if you want we can-_

"Oh, what a surprise" a familiar, gruff voice says and Leo looks up from the text he was typing. It was Riario, dressed casually in a loose fitting shirt, ordinary blue jeans and loafers. Sunglasses sat on a shapely nose, making his face look angular. 

"Yes, it's so good to see you again" Leo says excitedly, shaking hands with him and immediately pulling a chair out for him.

"You're rather polite, I'm here for pleasant company." Riario says, sitting down and folding his sunglasses to hang at the neck of his shirt.

"I know, and I am excited about this, let me get you a coffee or something."

"That would be lovely, thank you."

Leo returns inside, spending his last bit of money on Riario's coffee, getting him a regular not knowing what he may like. When he came back, Riario was looking at something on his phone but put it away as soon as Leo came back.

"Here you are." Leo sets it down and twirls his chair around so he can sit with his legs spread behind the back, "Tell me about yourself, you've already got everything you need to know about me." 

"I already told you, my employment is classified and I have nothing to tell." Riario says and takes a sip of his coffee, his face giving nothing about how it may taste and this only puzzles Leo. 

"Well, you said that everyone recognizes you as 'Riario' so what may be your actual name?" 

"Girolamo, no one has called me by my first name in ages." He says. 

"Oh, then we can change  _Girolamo"_ Leo smiles, gently teasing the man who smiles and looks down as though he was embarrassed for smiling at all.

"What type of job do you currently hold?" Riario asked and Leo shrugs, "I wouldn't call it a job, I teach at an art studio near where I live. Verrocchio just gives me money whenever he thinks I may need it."

"On the topic of art." Riario leans forward, "Show me some of your work, I never got a chance at the exhibition." 

"But then we'd have to go to my place cause that's where I-"

"Then let us do that" Riario smiles with closed lips and blinks, he perched himself on his elbows at the table. Leo stared for a moment into those eyes, then observing the man's facial features. Everything was so angular, so sharp and mysterious... no wonder Leo was interested because there was nothing to find behind faded laugh lines and stubble. The man was incredibly hard to read.

Leo agrees to it, and Riario takes them out into a 1968 Chevy Chevelle, sleek and black, it glistened in the shadowed sun of the parking garage. Leo immediately took in a breath at how  _great_ Riario looked getting into the car, how much it matched his persona and gave the aura of someone in the position power. "Get in artista" Riario says and Leo had to break his thoughts to get in the car and give directions. 

 

Vanessa stared out the window as she polished a customer's glass and heard the sound of an old car engine passing by. She sees Leo in the front seat happily chatting away with the man behind the steering wheel and she couldn't help but smile. In her head she bids them well and knows that a little more than business would sprout between them. 

 

Riario turned down the radio and listened to Leo's chatter, how he excitedly explained the painting techniques he uses for his creations. Riario was fond of how passionate Leo was for his hobby, he wished he was just as naive and had something to be passionate about. Unfortunately, his job restricts that. He'd taken lives, changed so many, and never managed to do anything good about it and Leo was a simple human being, creating art and being someone he wants to be. 

For now, Riario followed the directions Leo provided and eventually rolled up to a block of flats. There was space for parking and so he left his car there and followed Leo. They took a lift all the way to the top and the whole time, Leo was filling every bit of silence with something to talk about. 

When they came to the door that was Leo's, he turned the key and opened. Inside was an organized living space, a small kitchen, one bathroom and two doors which Riario assumed were bedrooms. 

Leo welcomed him inside, asking if he'd like anything to eat or drink which Riario politely declined.

"Wonderful living space artista." he comments and Leo scratches the back of his head, "Yeah, I've been trying to earn some extra cash for a bigger place but this is all I've got." 

Riario walked into the comfortable living space, a single couch which was open to a mattress. A few pillows lay messily in odd positions and the covers were jumbled up in a mess of tissues. "Oh god, sorry! Zo was staying the night and..." Leonardo took a sniff of the pillows and made a displeased face, "I'll have to do laundry". 

"It's fine Leonardo" Riario says quietly, his thoughts whirling around a single idea of  _I should try to spend the night one of those days._

"Lemme show you my painting room." Leo says. Riario eyes the rest of the home, everywhere were pencils, charcoal, paintbrushes and the walls even had a few doodles on them. 

He follows Leo into one of the rooms and inside, the smell of paint was overwhelming. A window was open in an effort to air it out. There were a few cushions lying around, some were covered in paint drops and others were extremely flat. Successful paintings hung on the walls with their appropriate ribbons and a small shelf was dressed in other ribbons, medals and trophies.

"You have been entering a lot of competitions" Riario comments, looking at the shelf of rewards.

"Mostly minor ones, I only got into the bigger exhibitions after being nominated" Leo says, coming up behind Riario and watching him look at some of the ribbons and then his gaze shifting to a moderately sized painting of a woman looking down at her child which seemed to be asking for something of her.

"You enjoy the Renaissance style..." Riario says in awe, dragging a finger gently over the painting and feeling every brushstroke beneath it. A yellow ribbon was attached to the wall next to it announcing third place.

"This is exquisite, why did you get third place?" Riario couldn't help but wonder out loud.

"The rating was determined by votes from the public attending, no one likes old art, they're into other forms much less detail-oriented than mine." Leo confessed sadly.

"But it's truly a work of art, it isn't just a line across canvas." Riario chuckles and Leo's smile crinkled at his eyes, "I'm glad you think my paintings are great".

Riario's eye caught another painting, one of a shy woman with an exposed breast. "Who modeled for you?" Riario asks and Leo rubbed an eye, "No one, I can't paint naked women."

"What do you mean by that?" 

"Well, for starters, not everyone believes I am an artist and there were a few occasions when my nude models accused me of bringing them to bed against their will" Leo crinkled his nose and looked about the room.

"Really?" Riario was now truly curious, "But you never did, did you?".

"Of course not, they were paying me. My income was at stake, I'd never..." Leo scoffs, "I sometimes cannot believe what lengths people go to to accuse someone, especially for money cause I was going to get sued and..." Leo tapped his foot impatiently and Riario took it as a warning sign of going too far.

"My apologies for bringing it up" He says, beginning to move onto another painting.

"No it's okay, I just never really had anyone to talk about it with, this was before I met Vanessa, Nico and Zo so... empty bottles of alcohol were my only friends at the time". 

Riario continued to listen to Leonardo's woes, the topic shifted to how a young gay man asked for Leo to paint him, giving him some money and eventually the boy was looking for something far greater than just being Leo's model. "When I turned him down he seemed to be afraid of something, I don't know what it was but there was a pain and something along the lines of fear that just..." Leo sat at a stool, his hands helping to do some of the talking. 

"Men go to far greater lengths to avoid what they fear than to obtain what they desire." Riario answers, touching another painting that wasn't finished yet of Jesus Christ at a long table with his disciples and a woman serving them.

"Yes, but what did he want? What was he trying to avoid?" 

"From your story, he was looking for a relationship and was afraid of the commitment". Leonardo's eyes seemed to brighten up, "My god, I'd never really thought about that, and I think about  _a lot_ of things!"  _  
_

"I'm sure you do" Riario smiles at him.  _Oh no, he smiled... That's not good._

"Anything else you'd like to show me or..." he tries to change the subject, "No, not really" Leonardo says, "It's getting late and..." 

Indeed, the sun was beginning to cast longer shadows, "And I've got a project to get done... Surely they'll be checking in and..." At this, Riario's ears tuned out the muttering. "Oh, where are you staying so we can do the same thing tomorrow, yeah?" 

 _Yes, perfect,_ "I don't really have a place to stay" Riario pretends to say sadly and Leonardo laughs, taking it as a joke but the other man's expression remained serious, "Oh, you don't live around here do you?" Riario shook his head, "I'm here on business, the problem with that is; I don't get paid until the business is done."

"When will you be done?" Leonardo asks and Riario shrugs.

"Well, why don't you stay with me then, we know enough about each other to trust that no one will hold a knife over our heads when we sleep amiright?" Leonardo laughs and playfully punches Riario who smiles back, "If you can, I really don't want to be a bother" he plays a polite fool. 

"No no! I'll just give you fresh sheets and we can all go to bed." and that is what happens. Riario went back to his car to get his duffel of clothing, silently celebrating that he'd been able to get closer to Da Vinci so quickly and be able to provide information for his uncle. Leonardo gathered the dirtied sheets and tossed them somewhere else and replaced them with fresh ones. 

"I rented a few movies, wanna watch?" Leonardo asks, holding up three CD cases labeled with their respected titles. Riario shrugs, drinking out of a water bottle he'd been offered.

"You said something on a project..." Riario decides to change the subject as Leonardo placed the CD into the drive, "Oh yeah, Lorenzo de' Medici wanted something for next week's festival, something to out-compete against Rome since there is this 'thing' going on between them." 

"Oh yes, I've heard" Riario plays dumb, continuing to drink the water. "Yeah, I showed him some of my other designs and other stuff, he seemed pretty interested so maybe now I can have a steady source of income." Leonardo says as the beginning credits rolled onto the screen and he shuffled about the kitchen for something.

"That sounds exciting" Riario says, moving over to make room for the both of them on the small couch. Leonardo continued to speak with a full mouth until Riario felt a cold wetness pressed up against his lips.

"Grape?". He almost swats away Da Vinci's hand in surprise but accepts the grape into his own fingers and draws a few conclusions on his character. Quirky, over-confident and awkward.

Leonardo settles next to him, the distance of a bowl of grapes between them. The movie wasn't terribly interesting, it was a standard _my-daughter-was-kidnapped-by-a-druglord-and-now-my-secret-life-from-twenty-years-ago-has-returned_ type of movie. Leo seemed immersed in it, leaning forwards and smiling at plot-twists or character reveals. Riario watched the artist and his emotions, drawing his eyebrows together in an effort to focus only on Leonardo. 

The man was handsome, had working hands and seemed used to insults and shame and never really cared to take it all seriously. Riario wished he had those qualities, but his whole life changed when he started working for his uncle, he now had no personality and he'd been trained to never show any of it because then it would be used against him in the worst possible ways. Although this was a job, Riario felt relaxed around the artist, it seems as that the man gives off that type of aura. 

The movie ends on a cliffhanger, promising answers in the next part coming in a few months. Leonardo stretches and smiles at Riario, "Was it a good movie 'cause I thought it was". Riario nods and takes the bowl of grape stems over to the trash where he disposes of it and places the dish into the sink. Leonardo thanks him as he cleans up from the movie and mutters an "Oh no". 

He was looking at the clock, "Ugh, I've got stuff in the morning why did I stay up?" Leonardo now rubbed his eyes, "Alright, this isn't going as planned but uhm..." He looked around the room, "Sorry if I kept you up with my nonsense, I bet you've got work in the morning too and I just... ugh!... You can stay as long as you'd like, even if the job is finished! I can clear out the drawing room and make something up for you! Have a good night". The disgruntled artist waves his hand and shuts the door to the bedroom. 

Riario took off his shirt and laughs quietly.  _It was so easy to gain his trust! How naive and... manipulative!_ At this, Riario turned out the light and brought the clean duvet up to his nose. It smelled of cheap laundry detergent but it was clean. He continued to think. _M_ _anipulative? There has to be a better word for it... he's malleable? Just easy to manipulate. He's manipulative too if one really thinks about it... I'm convinced to be relaxed around him, to be myself! God, he's either too friendly or just that great at being himself._

He closes his eyes and drifts into a dream, for the first time in a long time.

 

Leo listened for the silence that followed after Riario had gone to bed. He waited even longer to listen for easy and relaxed breathing to know he was truly asleep. Leo quickly dug for his larger sketchbook and a charcoal pencil before listening again for steady breathing. He hears a sleepy moan and movement before opening the door. He smiled to himself before approaching the sleeping man and settling cross-legged at the side of his bed. 

Riario slept soundly as Leo sketched, the sketch soon turned into a detailed drawing which then became almost too realistic. Leo paid lots attention to the hair, eyebrows, eyelashes and beard. The beard was his favorite part due to it's shape and how well it appeared on the newsprint paper. When Riario began to stir into a different sleeping position, Leo knew it was time move on. Before he got up, some of the duvet was pulled into the man's grip, exposing a naked back. 

Leo audibly gasped at the wonderful lines and shapes. He quietly flips to a clean page in the sketchbook and began again, now paying attention to shadows. The clock on the wall chimed very quietly twice, announcing two am. Leo bit down a curse, and closed his sketchbook. Sleep was important too, this was his fourth night up and he planned to finally get a few hours in.

He hopes that the next night he can continue to sketch and that the man he had fallen in love with never wakes up to find out. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> drunk!Riario

The next morning, Riario wakes up feeling better with himself, refreshed from a good night's sleep with a good dream to accompany it. It was early morning and he could hear snores coming from another room which he only assumes was Leonardo. 

Noticing the artist has a programmable coffee pot, fresh,hot coffee drizzled into a glass pot. Riario leaned against the counter waiting for the last to drain before finding a cup that wasn't covered in paint. He then set up another cup and spoon at the side, a little something in return for Leo's hospitality. 

Riario went to sit back down at the bed when he heard his phone vibrating with many text messages and a few missed calls from his uncle. 

"Good morning" He answers the incoming call.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?! Refunding the room! Your sources have no clue where your bloody-ass might be! Never giving a call or a measly text about your whereabouts!" His uncle began to scold. Riario only sighs and shoves his face into his hands, listening to the bickering and criticizing before the line went quiet.

"Are you quite finished?" He says into the speaker and awaiting an answer. There was a sniffle on the other end and a quiet, "Yes".

"Good, the whole point of this job is to get closer to Da Vinci, correct? I've currently gained residence in his home and already I know he is working for Lorenzo, further details to follow" Without waiting for an answer, he hung up and tosses the phone away. 

"Some boss." He hears someone say and Riario's blood suddenly went cold as he turned to face a scruffy Leonardo who was blinking the sleep away.

"They seemed rather persistent on something you've only just started and they want answers! Now this is why I became an artist, no bosses, almost no deadlines and you get high pay" Leonardo winked as he rubbed his index finger on his thumb. In relief, Riario smiles, that means the artist didn't hear very much. In the future he'd have to be more careful. 

"Plans for today?" Leonardo asks as he took Riario's finished cup and placed it into the sink.

"I must go to a meeting, and you have a project" Riario says, putting on a fresh black shirt and dark pants taken out of his duffel. Da Vinci crunched into an apple as he watched him dress, spewing out complete nonsense on how office jobs were so terrible and are borderline abuse to a person. Riario barely cared to listen to such babble so he politely straightened out the sheets on his bed and hid his duffel behind the mattress. 

Riario quickly took his jacket and told Da Vinci good-bye, "Bye, love you" the response came and for a moment after the door had closed, Riario faltered in his step. What significance does the word  _love_ even have? What was Leonardo implying? Yes, Riario could tell he's interested in him but like  _that?  And so quickly?!_ _  
_

Riario shook himself off and straightened his black suit jacket before getting into his car and sitting for a long moment just staring, trying to mentally prepare himself for an encounter with one of his sources. He sent a text and continued to try and prepare but it wasn't working, playing dumb and kind was really getting to him now and his personality never calls for such kindness. The rock station doesn't play anything in the morning and the static was bothering him more than anything. Riario took out a cassette converter and plugged his phone into it and popped the converter into the cassette player of his car. He scrolled to Pandora and shuffled his many stations which landed on _Woodkid_ 's 'Iron' _._

His mind finally set into the position of authority, he looks into his glove-box to find a Lahti m-40. Satisfied that it was loaded, he shoves it in the back of his pants and covers it with his suit. Finally gunning the engine, he turned out of the parking lot and onto the empty street. 

 

Leo flung a pencil out the window, frustration and embarrassment was drowning him.  _Who says 'I love you' like that? Apparently I do!_ Leo scratched his head and looked around his flat. He noticed that Riario had made the sheets and left his duffel bag at the foot of the bed, unzipped. Leo looked at the bag, approaching it like a curious animal. 

He knew it's impolite to look through other people's belongings but he was  _so curious._ It was in his personality, he's hardwired to be this way.

He sees Riario's shirts all folded in someway within the bag, the shirt from yesterday was separate from the rest. At the bottom of the bag there was a small but heavy crucifix. Judging by the chain it hung from and the shine, Leo could tell it was worn under clothing and very often.

"Religious man?" Leo wondered out loud, knowing that no one was listening. 

He continued to observe the flat chain links, how they folded onto one another when dropped in his hand. Leo's fingers twitched, a quirk he'd developed when he is analyzing things. His fingers snap and a smile crinkles at his eyes,

"Yes" he whispers, "YES!" He shouts, the idea that struck him was incredible, artistic and  _perfect_ for the festival next week. He pockets the crucifix and chain and runs out the door to the metals shop. 

 

Riario drove into ally-way, his music still playing rather loudly. He had one hand on the steering wheel and the other relaxed against the open window as he strolled through, seeing a pair of feet behind a large garbage dump. "Do come out Rodrigo" He says into the quiet alley. A small but muscular man in a black suit walked out from behind and greeted Riario, "My lord". 

"Yes, yes" Riario put his car in park and left the engine to idle. He turned his music down and opened the door. His polished shoes dully clicked against the tar beneath them as he slowly approached his source.

"Who notified my uncle?" He asks, running a hand down his stubbly beard.

Rodrigo seemed to falter, "It was Paolo, I swear".

Riario fiddled with his sunglasses and shifted his weight to one foot, "Rodrigo, what is the eighth commandment?".

"Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor" Rodrigo says proudly with some timidness in his voice.

"Good, now do tell the truth... who notified my uncle?" He crosses his hands behind his back. Rodrigo answers once more with the recited lie.

"Rodrigo, my dear, you're making a mistake." Riario smiles, finding the handle of the gun. He slowly reveals it to his source.

"As the old saying goes, an eye for an eye. But today it will be, a toe for the truth" He takes the safety off the gun and aims it at Rodrigo's feet. 

"Alright! It was me! I was concerned for your lack of activity so I went to the hotel you were staying at and I was told you checked out and refunded the room so I told your uncle because I had no way of finding you." Rodrigo spilled, his face turning pale and Riario grins.

"See, and was that so hard?". Rodrigo gave no response and awaited further orders. 

"Now, I want you to tell the others what I am going to tell you now" Riario stepped closer to the other man and put the barrel of the gun against his chin, "I am to remain anonymous, I do not want you  _anywhere near me._ I will contact his holiness personally whenever I deem fit and all of you will have shit to say".

Rodrigo nods, beginning to take himself off the gun.

"And one more thing" Riario says, "One more slip-up like this and not only will you be fired, but you will be  _fired at."_

Rodrigo nods and weakly responds with a, "Yes my lord". "

Go, I want you out of my sight" Riario hissed and Rodrigo quickly walks away. 

Getting back in his car and resetting the gun, Riario slipped it back into the glove-box and turned up his music once more. He pulls out of the ally-way and begins in the direction of a public library. Passerby in the early morning looked on at him with some disgust as he rolled through the streets at seven am blaring 'Welcome to the Jungle' by  _Guns N' Roses_. 

 

Leonardo rang himself up at the hardware store when he heard music blaring outside. The shop window was being freshly cleaned and the unmistakable black car that belonged to Riario passed by with him tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. Leo quickly ran out, hoping to catch more of the man but fails and only sees him drive into a different street. He lets out a sigh of disappointment and returns to the flat with his chain links. 

 

Riario lowered his music as he approached a public library, the moment the librarian flipped the sign announcing their opening. He smacks his car door shut and locks it, stepping into the aging building. He took off his sunglasses and eyes the front-desk.

"Excuse me miss, but are the computers available for public use?" He asks in the sweetest tone of voice he could possibly offer.

"Only if you've got a library pass or a student ID".

Riario smiles and goes to his wallet, behind his driver's license he has many fake cards and fishes out the one that looked like a student ID.

"Will this be good?" He offers the card and the librarian lifts her glasses to see his identification.

"Rome? What are you doing in Florence?" The woman asks and Riario clasps his hands apologetically, "Family visit, staying for a while and need to get some school-work done."

"Yes, it'll do, allow me to log in for you". The woman clicks her way from behind the front desk and leads Riario to a small computer lab, "If you want to print anything, it can be picked up at the front desk and cost you ten cents per page. All pages you have visited are automatically cleared when you close out the internet. Passwords, IDs, credit card numbers etcetera will not be saved". Riario nods along as the woman typed in the admin password and allows him to access the internet. He thanks her as she walks away. 

Riario smiles at how anonymous the whole thing is, he made his searches of the Medici family, Lorenzo de' Medici and anything concerning the bank of Florence and alliances to them. He copies several pages into a Microsoft word document, gathering a total of fifteen.

Riario decides to log into his email, he composes a long letter addressing that he was to remain anonymous throughout his job and that updates will come as often as needed. He could tell that his uncle wouldn't be happy but for once  _Riario_ would like to be in control. He prints his documents and closes out his browser and document. At the front counter he goes to retrieve his papers. 

The woman scratches her nose as she waits for the printer to work through the many pages and at the same time, watches Riario pull out the money he owes.

"It's an awful lot on the Medici's, are you doing some sort of project?" the lady asks as she flicks through the finished pages.

"An economics class, the project is to choose someone who is a prominent figure in the economic world and explain their choices and decisions." Riario cooks up a lie.

The woman nods, "Impressive" she says and hands him his copies while he pushes the money towards her. He was returned his fake ID and invited back if be needed. 

On his way to the car, he flips through his documents to make sure all was in order when he hears a familiar voice, "Oh! Girolamo". When he looks up, his skin turns cold.

He quickly folds up the documents to hide their contents, "Artista, I wasn't expecting you" he says, shoving the papers into the inside of his jacket.

"I wasn't either, what are you doing here?" 

"I was printing some spreadsheets and sending out emails" Riario scratches behind his head, observing that Leonardo was just coming from a hardware store. "And you?". 

"I picked up some materials for the project, I came to get some books on mechanics." Leonardo smiles and puts a hand against his eyes, "Sunny day today!" He exclaims as a wind ripped through.

"And possibly stormy" Riario answers, observing dark clouds in the distance. 

"Were you on the way home?" Leonardo asks, fumbling in his pockets for something, "Yes, my meeting had concluded".

"Good, stop by whatever place you want and get yourself breakfast, there's nothing in the fridge at home unless you like paint and oils amirite?" Leonardo laughs, dumping some money into Riario's hands.

"I have money, no need to give me yours" he shoves the money back. 

"No no, take it. It's yours to spend on breakfast, it's my fault there's nothing to eat but half spoiling fruits and Kefir at home; the least I could do is fund you some food for the day." Leonardo says, pushing the money back.

Riario nods, he figures there's no point in arguing and accepts the cash.

"I'll see you at home, bye love" Leonardo swiftly runs into the library while Riario stood in the parking lot once more, constipated by the fact that  _twice_ he'd been called 'love' by his temporary flatmate. 

Getting in the car and feeling the cool of the ripping wind, he closes the windows and turns the music down to a soft whisper. He again, sits and stares at nothing in particular. What awakes him from his meaningless thoughts was the growling in his abdomen and the feeling of being eaten inside and out. Gunning the engine and backing out of the lot, he drives in no certain direction, thinking he'll eventually stumble on some place to find food. 

And that was what happened, he drove slowly observing anything that might catch his eye and finds a simple restaurant with take-out. The smell of rice and spices made Riario remind himself that it was okay to indulge, he was anonymous now and no one will catch him rewarding himself. Going inside and counting the money that Leonardo give him, he takes what he likes and thinks about getting something for the artist, surely he must be running on only the coffee and apple from earlier that morning. He finds the simplest thing on the menu that may be accepted by the artist, a vegetarian dish. 

When he got back to the flat, rain had begun to lightly drizzle and the sky was growing dark. Once he made it to the top floor, thunder rocked the building and Riario smiles shamelessly. Storms were his favorite because of the power. The touchdowns of lightning made his hair stand on end and how the flashes that would follow left imprints in his eyes so that when he blinks, that awesome power can be experienced till the next one comes. 

Riario took out his takeout box and left Leonardo's on the counter, quickly writing 'It's yours' on the side to let him know that it was the artist's. He flicks on the television and the channel was stuck on the news, announcing that the whole day would be rainy with occasional storms. Riario shrugs, happy to finally have a peaceful time to enjoy good food with a storm and background noise just the way he likes it. He dug his chopsticks into the rice and string beans, sighing contently when the flavor came to his tongue. In a matter of moments, he finishes the box and felt satisfied. For a long time he was not able to indulge _but today_ was absolutely marvelous. 

He lay back on his bed, with nothing to do but listen to the rain and drifting into a heavy doze.

 

Leo once again punishes himself for calling his roommate 'love', it just wasn't your average thing to say! He wasn't new to the library, the librarian greeted him warmly as he passed by to find the most useful of books. He took his time, scrutinizing every book and finding only three that he deemed enough for his use. Going to the check-out, he handed his books to the librarian who rang him up, warning him of unpaid fines and he was out again. The sky began to leak lightly and Leonardo dashed to the nearest art supply store to quickly pick up a brand new crafting knife (he melted the other one on a stove along other utensils) and a set of small screwdrivers exclusively sold there. He sees the rain pouring outside the shop window and mutters a curse for picking the wrong day to shop for materials. He should've known better, this year was a wet year and almost every other day did it rain and today was one of those days. 

To get home, Leo hails a cab for the sake of his materials and books. When he is dropped off in front of his building, he see's Riario's car parked outside and soaking in the heavy downpour. He nudges the doors of the lobby open and climbs into the elevator. It chimes every time it stops and at the final chime, Leo got off and went to his flat. 

The door was locked from the outside and he uses the buried key-containing pill box.

"Hey Girolamo I'm home" Leo says excitedly upon entering but quickly silences himself when he sees Riario's perfect figure asleep with his arms crossed against his chest. He drops his bags quietly by the door into his studio and goes to the kitchen, noticing the brown bag with a 'It's yours' elegantly written on the paper. Inside was a paper box with a vegetarian dish. 

Leo smiled warmly, he never uttered a word to Riario about his diet and yet the thought of remembering to get him food and choosing something universally accepted was something that made the artist blush. To leave his sleeping friend alone, he took his food and materials into his studio room and set to work. 

 

When Riario awoke, he heard the rustling of a plastic bag somewhere and turned to see shadows within Leonardo's studio. He only guesses that it was Leonardo because the bag on the counter lay empty on it's side and wet footprints followed his course. Riario stretches and stands up, heading to the door of the studio. He knocks quietly and heard the noises stop. 

Leonardo opens the door only a crack and brightens up seeing that it was only Riario.

"Sorry if I woke you up" he says but Riario shook his head.

"What are you working on artista?" He eyed an odd contraption that roughly resembled the wings of a bird.  

"A bird" Leonardo says proudly, "Well, the wings at least 'cause those need to be calibrated to support the weight that will be attached".

Riario nods, picking up the set and looking at the chains attaching each plate of bronze, he moves one feather plate downwards and the whole row followed as a chain collapsed. "

Yeah, I'm still working on it, but I plan that it will be connected to a set of gears..." Leonardo dips into his  bag and produces a few gears and their corresponding chains, "... and the gears will help the wings to continually flap as long as my engine can provide enough-"

"Engine?" Riario interrupts, truly amazed at the piece he was holding but with the mention of the engine, he was now absorbed into the conversation.

"Yeah, it's going to fly" Leonardo answers and looking at Riario like he'd just dropped from the moon.

"I thought you only needed something for the show?" Riario says, setting the wings back into Leonardo's hands.

"Well, yeah, but I thought it would be cooler to make it actually fly and give off sparks as it does".

Riario's eyebrows furrowed, "I would like to see such a thing happen, Leonardo".

Leonardo nods, "You can just call me Leo".

Riario also nods, "I'll leave you to it, make it just as beautiful as you are artista". With that, he walks out of the room and smirks when the noise didn't resume for a few solid minutes.  _I've got him right where I want him._

 

That night, Leo spent most of it getting frustrated over one spring that just wasn't fitting correctly. The thunder outside gave no promise of letting up and the silence that rang after each blow all but made his silent flat feel eery. Letting out a frustrated sigh, Leo shut off the lights in that room and shut the door, deciding he would work on it tomorrow. 

He sees Riario asleep again, gloriously shirtless and calm. Leo took up his charcoal and pad, approaching the sleeping man and resuming what he had done the night before. Tonight, he concentrated on his hands and torso which faced upwards at the ceiling and one hand laying off the side of the bed. He scribbled the same thing over and over again before it was seared into his memory. Riario turned on his side, sighing sleepily as he took the sheets in his hands and drew them up and over his shoulders and bringing the fabric close to him. Leo silently prayed he wouldn't wake up and resumed his drawing. When Leo flipped his sketchbook closed and got up from the floor, he heard the falling of metal and saw Riario's crucifix had slipped out of his pocket. He stares at it again through the clouded moonlight and replaces it in Riario's untouched duffel before going to sleep himself. 

 

Riario awoke to the muffled ringing of his cellphone. He picks up and answers with a sleepy 'Hello', not noticing who was calling.

"This is ridiculous Girolamo!" It was his uncle.

"What do you want now?" He groans, squeezing his eyes and blinking the sleep away.

"I am the boss of you, you are not the boss of me!" his uncle snarls.

Riario only slumped back into bed with the speaker at his ear, "Dear uncle, this is a delicate operation. Da Vinci doesn't even know who I am, and with my sources tracking me every minute of the day, it can jeopardize the whole point of this investigation". 

Riario could hear his uncle taking a breath to calm, "You promised updates, so far there are none!".

"Haven't you realized that nothing has happened since his employment? He has a project to do and his mind lies elsewhere than on actual revolutionary plans with the Medicis." Riario spits.

"Are you sympathizing with him now Girolamo?! Do you actually think he will not be the downfall of our great city?!" 

"No, uncle, it is just that you're not giving time. Do not expect me to earn his trust in three short days, it may take longer and I know how patient you can be" Riario plays at his uncle.

"Shut up you ignorant bastard, I want information by the end of tomorrow or I am calling off your investigation and have someone else take-over if you can't" he hisses.

"Goodnight to you too." and Riario hangs up, tossing his phone away into the duffel and resuming a sound sleep.

The morning routine went as it had yesterday, coffee, fruit and out the door- only that none of them had the need to go out because today was work day for Da Vinci and Riario claims that he isn't needed anywhere.

Somewhere around noon, Leo's phone went off. "Hey Zo, what's up" Leo tucks his phone between his shoulder and ear. "Uhm, I'll have to see" Leo says and holds the speaker against his shoulder.

"Zo's got some party going on, want to come with me?"

Riario shrugs, "Whatever you want artista, I am at your disposal".

"Yeah we'll come" Leo answers and there was some confused noises.

"Yeah, me and Riario" Leo continues to speak. Surprised noises followed along with anger and finally an agreeing tone before Leo hangs up. 

"Zoroaster didn't seem very open for my company" Riario says, sitting back with his legs stretched out before him while Leo slouched over his project.

"Eh, he's always like that, sometimes he's okay with new people, other times he isn't".

"Socially bipolar?".

"You can call it that". 

The two chatted until the invitation time grew near and both took turns showering. When Riario got out of the shower and left to let Leonardo use it, he phones his uncle to give the update. 

"Nothing today uncle" he says, on the other side there was an exhale.

"Hmmm...what is the project he currently has?"

"A flying contraption for the annual festival."

"Keep an eye on him, keep me posted" and with that, the line goes dead. It seems as though Riario had lost his freedom of power now, and again was responding to only his uncle. Today, if any of his sources were watching, they'd have something to report back to his uncle.

Riario dressed back into his dark clothes, exchanging loafers for sneakers, also dark in color. Leonardo came out in his usual leather jacket but beneath it he wore a well fitting blood-red shirt with the collar neatly folded down and the cuffs rolled up to match the length at which he kept his leather jacket's sleeve. Paired with black jeans and a set of worn leather loafers, Riario began to feel like he been out-competed in who is dressed the best.

"Uh, no" Leonardo smiles smuggly, "You are not going all in black".

Riario looked down at himself, finding he was dressed absolutely fine, "Why not?" He asks, his eyes staring straight into the artist's.

"Because, all you do is wear dark clothes, drop the shirt and I can lend you something..." Without a word of protest, Riario followed Leonardo into his bedroom, stopping at the threshold and watching him shuffle through some drawers. Despite the artist's normally messy routines, his clothes were folded neatly in the drawers.

"Here" Leonardo hands him a light blue button-down, "If you can't go without wearing black, wear the jacket over it".

Riario accepted the shirt with a thank you and changed into it quickly. 

When he looked into the full-length mirror in the bathroom, for a moment; Riario didn't recognize himself. He seemed brighter, awake, and looking less like someone who threatens homicide at the slightest mistake. He turned his head as he walked away from his reflection, feeling like he'd catch a glimpse of who he used to be but, he remained the same.

 

Leo was proud of himself, to see Riario in one of his shirts _in a light color_. The only time Leo saw Riario in any light color other than black was white, on the day they met and since then, black seemed to be his only choice. As Leo locked the door behind him, he noticed that Riario had exhanged his black pants for a regular pair of dark and faded jeans. Appreciating the change, Leo pushed the button on the elevator.

"Here" Riario says, and when Leo looked down at what he was holding, his skin went cold.

"No, I can't" Leo rejected the car keys.

"I can't drive your car."

"Why not?" Riario asks, still offering the keys.

"Because I..." Leo didn't have a good answer, half of him was saying ' _No, it's your baby, I can't possibly maneuver your pride and joy_ ' and the other half was saying, ' _Yes, this is the most romantic gesture that you have ever offered and I would gladly take it_ '.

"If you really don't want to, it's fine, I thought it would be something in return for allowing me to borrow your shirt, as well as your remarkable hospitality." Riario pockets the keys and Leo feels like he blew it, "How about I drive on the way back?".

Riario bites the inside of his lip, "Alright, this is in exchange for the shirt."

Once the elevator reached ground level and the two walked out into the setting evening sun, Riario unlocked the doors for both of them and started the engine. He let it idle to warm up from it's limited use recently. Leo looked straight ahead but his gaze shifted to the man seated next to him, casually resting his hand on the steering wheel and the other on the gear shift. The radio played very softly and Leo didn't recognize the music, it wasn't something he wasn't used to hearing.

"It's rock." Riario says, being able to identify Leo's confusion.

"You can change it if you'd like". But Leo doesn't move, he felt like he'd seen a side of Riario that no-one was able to see and his heart fluttered at the thought of having such a personal connection.

Riario shifted gears and pressed down on the gas, both of them were out of the parking lot and on their way (for what Leo felt like it was) to their second date.

 

Riario was slightly disappointed that the artist didn't take the wheel, he wanted to make-up for the borrowed shirt and the fact that he now sees himself _so differently._ He was no longer the shadow, the onlooker, the invisible one; he was now a commoner- someone who now had an input in decisions and someone who now had their own decisions to make. His phone vibrated in his pocket, he decides to ignore it and continues driving with Leonardo giving directions.

They roll up to a reserved night club, a security guard stood at the entrance checking identification and reservations. Riario parked the car somewhere away from the club, to avoid the drunks who may be inclined to key his car or shatter the windows. Leonardo didn't question the distance.

"My keys are in my pocket, take them whenever it's decided to head home." Riario says, showing him the keys that slipped into his pocket. Under the street-lamp, Leonardo's features looked sharp, something that only an artist would have such a keen eye to paint. Leo nods and both walked side-by-side to the night club.

The security guard let them pass without a problem, and once inside, Riario regretted his decision in joining. Women in tight skirts and enormous amounts of make-up smiled and served alcohol while onlooking men tipped them with money in their bras or a slap on the rear. The music was loud and and the clinks of glasses louder, everything was overwhelmingly loud and both Leo and Riario needed a moment to adjust to the blaring bass and bright lights.

"Im guessing it's someone's birthday" Leonardo yells close-by and pointing to a larger table seated with someone wearing a paper crown and already drunk out of their mind.

"HEY LEO!" Someone shouts, both turn to see Zoroaster with his shirt unbuttoned and his cheeks flushed a drunken red, "COME MEET MY BUDDY FRANCIS!" Seemingly ignoring Riario, Zoroaster wrapped an arm around Leo's shoulders and began to pull him through a crowd of dancing people, Riario followed.

They managed to get to the table where the man with the paper crown slurs his way through a greeting and ordering them all a round of shots. Sitting down next to Leonardo, Zo pulls and tugs at him like a favorite child's toy, laughing and making him agree to everything. Riario stared at his shot, not knowing what it was but by the smell of it, Jagermeister. Knowing it's strength in how quickly one can get drunk, Riario considered having the one and stopping there, and maybe switching to scotch for something lighter. Francis announces that everyone at his round table must swallow down the whole shot in one try, he stared at Riario the most, seeing right through that he isn't  _as_ familiar with drinking as often as he probably was. After a five second countdown, Zo, Riario, Leo and the other guests downed their shots, Riario squeezing his eyes shut and dropping his head to cough into his sleeve. He felt the liquid go quickly down to his stomach, settling with a refreshing and acidic warmth. 

Riario looked to Leo, his eyes watering from the burn of it going down. Leo had a similar expression.

"That wasn't too bad." Riario laughs, feeling light and cheerful, Leonardo nodded.

"Another?" Zo asks and both nod. After having delivered two more rounds of shots, Riario was beginning to feel the world spin.

He hadn't gotten drunk in ages, the heaviest drink he's had was a whiskey and even that got him warm in just a few sips. His usual gin and tonic was only enough to refresh him but never enough to get tipsy. Somehow he'd migrated away from Leo, and sitting with three other men who laughed and played a drinking game involving vodka mixed with Coca-Cola. 

Riario happily joined into the antics, seeing how much of the cocktail he could drink before the others finished. He ended up being second to last, mainly because the last began to gag. Somehow, Riario was happy to be drunk, he had nothing to worry about, no one had to know his name to enjoy his company and everything was relaxed.

But one thing kept sticking out in his mind. He looked to the artist, not sitting with anyone now and looking at something intently off to the left. Riario observed every part of him, starting with his face.

That face was incredible, something only a true artist would be able to capture; he wondered if Leonardo ever considered doing a self-portrait because his work was absolutely _exquisite_. He stared at the artist's crinkled eyes, every crease held secrets of what he's seen, what he's had the opportunity to see that any average person cannot even fathom. Riario's mind wandered as he toyed with his glass of vodka and coca-cola mix. He thought about Leonardo, his persona, who he was.

In reality, Leonardo wasn't just an artist looking for an honest pay for commissions, he is someone who wants to _create,_ do something with the world around him. It was rumored that Leonardo took lot's of commissions but didn't finish many, Riario understood why; because the topic had become _too ordinary. A_  typical model for a portrait is just another tack in the wall among millions of others, Leonardo enjoys the unique, something that isn't ordinary. He admires the man for his pickiness, and because of this; Leonardo can truly create something amazing.

"Oh no" Riario audibly says, enough for himself to hear over the loud music. He shoved his face in his hands and began to laugh quietly, with one thing repeating like a mantra, " _I have fallen in love with_ _Leonardo Da Vinci"_

He looked to his glass and looked over at the open bar. He goes up to the bar, feeling the world sway. Riario places the glass on the counter, "A cup, strongest you've got." He demands and the tender obliged. Riario looked back to where Leo sat, seeing he was once more accompanied by Zoroaster. When his glass was placed into his hand, he walked back to his empty seat and drank. He didn't know what it was, but it had a very good kick to it.

After sadly finishing the glass, he goes for another. Then another, then another, and another... By then, the world was blurry, the music hurt and the overwhelming feeling to cry and laugh at the same time seemed to be tipping back and forth. He goes back to the bar, holding onto stools, people's clothing and eventually the counter to mount himself from slipping away. He takes his glass once it's been filled and dumped himself at his table. He only stared at the liquid as he held the glass to eye-level, watching the bubbles swirl around. Swallowing hard, he brought the glass to his lips.

 

Leonardo had quite enough of everyone and it was only one in the morning. Normally he'd stay longer, and drink _a lot_ more than he needed to but remembering he didn't come alone made him go out into the club to look for his companion. Everyone was already wasted, some lay passed out at tables, chairs, or on the dance-floor and others continued to drink as though the alcohol may run dry.

When Leo rounded the bar, he saw Riario, staring into a glass of -whatever- and bringing the half-full glass to his lips and downing it all in one swallow. Leo saw the glass shake its way down to the table as Riario blinked hard a few times and run his hands through his hair. Leo had to admit, it was the hottest, most attractive thing he's seen but as he got closer and saw Riario's eyes, he knew it was time to go.

They were red, his cheeks were high with rose and he looked worse than drunk. Leo decides to end this now.

"Hey, want to go home?" Leonardo asks, standing close-by.

Riario turned and immediately smiles, "Why? We're all having so much _fun._ " he brought his finger up to tap at Leonardo's nose and smile even wider. Leo nods, a very thin smile showing at his lips. There was no way they were staying longer, Riario will pass out if he has one more drink.

"Alright, let's have a drink together. Get up." Leo easily convinces him to stand, immediately slipping his hand into Riario's pocket and feeling for the keys.

"Woah!" Riario exclaims, his legs crossing, "Not here." He said deviously. The rose in his cheeks only emphasized by the unapologetic wink to the artist. Leo didn't bother answering, he rolled his eyes and tugged the keys out. He wrapped a hand around Riario's waist and began to lead him out of the club.

"Wait, where are we going?" Riario whirled to Leo, halting and standing as straight as he could. Leo sighed, "Another bar, this one is too crowded." Trying to lie and coax the man out.

"No! You're taking me home" Riario says, crossing his arms and quickly catching himself on a stool.

"Well, yeah be-" Leo began but was sharply cut off.

"But we've only just started to enjoy ourselves _darling._ " Riario says, his words bleeding into one another.

Leo shook his head, "How many drinks have you had?" he once more attempts to move his friend again with the new distraction.

Riario only laughs, "To be completely honest with you... I don't know."

Leo laughs along to further convince his drunk friend, "See, this is why we need to go home and sleep it off".

"But Leonardo" Riario slurs, "I know one thing for sure..."

"Only one? Shit, I thought you knew two." Leo continues to lug the drunken man, joking along to keep him distracted.

"No no, love, It's a part of the same thing." Riario smiles and begins to hold onto Leonardo's hands, "I know... That you've got a crush on me" he giggles like a child. Leonardo feels himself go cold, _he was so obvious and yet he didn't want to hear it like this!_

"Is that so?" Leo asks.

"Mmhmm, and I've got to tell you a secret" Riario whispers into the artist's ear, Leo shook his head.

"No, you're drunk and we can talk about this when you're sober."

"Okay" Riario sniffles, "Whatever Mr. Cranky-pants."

They finally got to the car and Leo lets Riario down into the passenger seat, fastening his seat belt for him and tightening it well. Riario slumped his head back against the headrest. Leo settled into the drivers seat and started the engine. He shifted the gear and drove them home.

Riario was silent half the time, the other half was him moaning and complaining that he wanted to stay longer. Leo listened to none of it and eventually got him to the top floor of the building. Riario had draped himself and wrapped his arms around Leo's neck, holding on tightly.

Leo got the door open and kicked it shut behind them, half-carrying Riario to bed. He gently set him down, feeling that the man's arms were still wrapped around his neck.

"Goodnight love" Riario pressed a bristled kiss on Leo's cheek and released himself into bed. 

Leo watched him attempt to kick off his shoes, eventually getting it on the fifth or sixth try and wrapping himself up in the duvet. Leo went to the medicine cabinet to take out a bottle of pain-relievers and set them on the counter next to the fridge. He also took out a large bottle of vegetable juice and water. In the morning, he knew that Riario would have a hang-over and the least Leo could do was give him something to ease it.

Leo remembers what it's like to be held so highly, forbidden to participate in anything. When he lived with his father, too poor to support himself- drunken nights were out of the question and when they did happen, they happened in great amounts to the point of near hospital visits. Leo never knew why until he grew up enough to understand that he didn't like to be held back.

With his love, Riario, it was the same. The man was held back by his obviously more professional job, and that job held itself to high for health. Tonight was an opportunity for Riario to come out of his shell, and with nothing holding him back, he could not stop what he started. It was perfectly natural and Leo was happy that he was there to help. He retires to his bedroom and shuts the door.


	4. Chapter 4

When Riario finally groaned awake, his head was pounding and his stomach felt like coming up. As he rushed to the bathroom, the floor spun and he nearly collapses at the threshold. When he came to the toilet and began to cough, nothing came out and he wheezed, trying to purge his system of what may be upsetting his stomach. 

Riario slowly came up to the bathroom mirror and saw his reflection, something that he regretted now seeing. He was disheveled, his shirt hung loosely on his body and he had red circles under his eyes. He began to cough in an effort to relieve the dryness in his throat but it only became worse. Taking a handful of water, he slurps it into his mouth and sighed contently as his throat began to clear up. Looking for that feeling again, his hand went into the running water multiple times, now feeling more thirsty than searching for relief. 

He almost violently threw down the knob and water stopped flowing. "There has to be a better option" Riario says out loud, not knowing if the artist was home or not. He goes into the kitchen and relief came over him, pain-killers and water. That was probably the happiest moment of his life as he shook out two pills and popped the cap open of the water. Washing the pills down with half a bottle, he settles back into bed, immediately cringing. 

The pillow didn't smell right, like sweat and alcohol rather than whatever he used in his hair that day. The gears in his head finally began to whir back into normal function and he remembered last night...

The drinking, the mindless and incoherent babbling, telling Leonardo the obvious... He wonders how much he actually said, if he'd caused anything to change between them. One thing he remembers vividly is laughing to himself and finally coming to terms with the fact that he had fallen in love with Leonardo Da Vinci.

That was not a lie, his heart now lies with Leonardo, and he feels guilty that he was going to have to at some point destroy this beautiful human being both emotionally and maybe someday- physically.

His chest tightened at the thought, he needed to somehow call it all off. Make up something to his uncle to dump the scheme but this also put his own life and job at stake. 

Riario was blood-bound to his uncle. Anything he said or did had a cost, positive or negative. Anything his uncle said, went, and if not- punishment is sure to swing around shortly. However, Riario holds a high position of power, being _C_ _ount_ and the most feared man in Rome... He did as he pleased, as long as it pleased his uncle too. Da Vinci's case was his uncle's idea, who is paranoid on the 'succession of Rome' and how 'he will build a great empire anew from the ashes of his enemies'. Florence was one of those enemies; as well as Milan and other large sections of the Italian country. Riario agreed that Italy needed a broader approach to spreading out its cities, and allowing a group or singular elite specializing in such practices to do so would be massively successful. but the idea both excited and frightened him. 

If this were to happen, Riario would no longer be as anonymous as he enjoys being, he'd sit at the right side of his uncle's throne, listening to all the big-bosses scheme and be an adviser rather than a Count and someone who remained in public. Also, once Italy is ruled under the thumb of his uncle, he would get bored of just Italy and continue to see how much more he can conquer. Riario wasn't prepared for this, there was too much on his plate as is and even if this will take years- the thought of having to be in the spotlight would change his whole life for the worst. 

Riario jumps when his phone began to ring, he cleared his throat and answered it. 

"What do you have for me?" He hears his uncle on the other side.

"Nothing, your grace. Last night, Da Vinci and I attended a birthday for one of his friends- there was no mention of Lorenzo or anything about Rome..." Riario waited for a response. 

"Alright, I'm willing to add-on to your time in Florence, seeing that Da Vinci requires a little more breaking down." There was a pause, "I'm extending till next week's Saturday night, if you have nothing then- I'll continue to consider." 

Before Riario could breath a relieved "Thank you" the line goes dead and he stared at his phone screen. He breathed deeply, trying to calm his pounding heart as the stress began to run off. He now has more time to think of something and get his uncle away from the artist. 

"Hi, how are you feeling?" Riario turned to face the door, seeing the Leonardo had returned from some sort of shopping.

"Not the best, but enough to survive" Riario laughs, embarrassed that he now found himself blushing at just looking at the artist. 

"Yeah, well, drinking games with Zo's friends aren't the best idea, neither were those shots with the birthday-boy." Leonardo laughs and tosses Riario a bottle of water from the bag he brought.

"How's that hangover?" Leo asked, tossing one of the bags with a * _clank*_ into his studio and coming to sit with Riario on the bed. 

"Not good" Riario says, rubbing his temples.

"Go take a shower and I'll give you fresh sheets, you need to sleep it off." Leonardo smiles warmly and pats Riario on the shoulder before getting up. 

"Leonardo" Riario called to him, "Leo" the artist corrects him.

"Whatever I said or did last night should be ignored, I'll admit was one of the lowest points of my life and will happily never return to it again... or at least not at that strength." Riario said, guilt-ridden. He doesn't want to be thought of any less by anyone, especially from his new love interest.

"Don't sweat it, being drunk isn't something to apologize for." Leonardo says as he came back into the room.

"Yes, but the fact that I was drunk is what troubles me... I should've been under better control of myself." Riario continued, putting his face in his hands as to ride out a coming headache.

"But you even said that your work prohibits fun, you didn't have work so you were having fun! It's no big deal" Leonardo laughs and Riario nods, "It's best to just forget it even happened, artista". 

"Alright, anything for today?" Leonardo rubbed his hands together.

"Your project artista, if I'm not mistaken, the festival is one day and one night from now" Riario says coolly.

"Yeah, but I'm in not in the mood to work today." Leonardo says simply, setting a fresh set of sheets on Riario's bed and walking back into the kitchen area. 

"Then what are you going to be doing?" Riario asks, turning his body to face the artist. Leonardo was picking at his fingers, he looked up at Riario with his eyes hooded.

"Nothing productive, watch a few movies and stay home" 

"Why don't you bring your materials in here and work on the project as you watch? You can stop as often as you'd like. I won't be doing much today besides nursing this horrible hangover" as though to emphasize his point, Riario's head began to throb strongly and he squeezed his eyes shut in an effort to ease  _anything._

"Fine, but you're taking a shower, two more painkillers and eating something" Riario could tell that Leonardo wasn't happy that he still needed to work, but with an agreement arranged, he marched into the bathroom and took his shower as told. 

 

Leo's hands were already cramping from the thought of working but Riario was right- the festival was just around the corner and he didn't even assemble the engine and sparking mechanism. As he changed the sheets for Riario, his mind wandered to the actual festival- who may be there, what may happen and most importantly; will Riario come to enjoy Florence's most awaited night of the year?

Leo set out the bottle of painkillers on the counter and a fresh bottle of carbonated water. He prepared both of them sandwiches (Leo hadn't eaten yet today either) and ate as he waited for Riario to come out of the bathroom. 

When he came out of the bathroom, a puff of steam marked his exit and a toweled bottom. Leo looked away quickly and shyly as he placed the sandwiches on a plate and filled two glasses with water. Riario walked around the bed and into his duffel, picking up a fresh set of clothing and disappearing into the bathroom again. 

Leo had to lean against the counter for a moment, trying to absorb the fact that  _the most gorgeous human-being_ waltzed through his apartment gloriously shirtless, fresh from a hot shower. Leo shook his head, he couldn't be thinking so shallowly now, not now when his mind needed to be on other things like his project that was to earn him a good sum of money. Five hundred euros is a very handsome price, enough to pay his rent for the next two months and then some. He has the cheapest of apartment in the block and now that he uses more utilities, his rent went up significantly. 

When Riario came out, clothed and smelling like himself- Leo took the plate of sandwiches into the living space and set them down on a long stool. Riario held his two painkillers and waited for Leo to take the first sandwich. 

"How can I repay you, Leonardo?" Riario began, as he took his first bite along with the pills. As he drank his water, Leo wondered what for.

"For what?" The artist asks, trying to get a piece of lettuce out from his teeth. 

"For everything you've done for me" Riario says, swallowing and looking straight at Leo. Leo's mind sparked, he was already considering only one offer.

"But I haven't really done anything, I gave you a bed to sleep in and food to eat. That's Zo's average package and he hasn't asked for anything in return..." 

"Maybe we should change that..." Riario says in a low whisper, as though someone might hear him. "What do you want dear artista?" 

"For you to come to the festival with me." Leo says, his words nudging themselves directly in front of the ends of Riario's.

The opposite man's gaze seemed distant, "Agreed, I will not question your decisions as you did not question mine." 

Leo sensed something wrong, an uneasiness in Riario's usual aura.

"Is something wrong?" Leo asks and Riario only smiles, "You're asking me a bit too late, I have no costume to present myself in".

Leo chuckles, "We'll think of something". 

 

When Riario was told that he was to attend the festival in Florence, he was not concerned about the costume he was to wear, but rather the important people from Rome who will be attending and most likely chaperoning Riario. Under his uncle's rule, these people know that what he says is sacred and that what is demanded must be done. Riario was finished with such games, he's realized what a wonderful world there is outside of his uncle's demands and that Riario's service all those years were to waste. 

Leo brushed his hands over his jeans and cleaned up after both of them, Riario gave effort into helping but Leo pressed that he needs to sleep off his hangover. When Leonardo disappeared into his studio, Riario laid down in bed, one arm over his eyes and trying to control his breathing as to finally relax into that healing sleep. _  
_

When Leonardo finally and quietly returned, he gingerly climbed over the headrest of the couch and settled cross-legged at Riario's feet. At some point, Riario once again fell asleep, listening to the quiet clinking of metal and feeling Leonardo's toes wiggling in concentration. 

 

Leo gave a silent "Yes!" when he manages to fit a complex gear system into the belly of his bird. The wings were now attached and the latch system was working perfectly. He checked if the sparking system would function and gave the gear a quick swipe. Small sparks came out the back of the bird and Leo now knew that his project was almost done, now to make it actually fly. He hadn't noticed that Riario was sleeping, the silence was ignored and replaced with random noise inside his head. 

Leo had gotten lost in another world when he was sharply brought back down when Riario began to stir, mumbling something under his breath. 

"That's absurd..." Leo heard him say, "I can't do that!" the other man mumbled almost incoherently. Leonardo continued to work, listening closely to the other man's mumbling. Riario began to move more, first it was subtle movements like his fingers twitching and curling his toes but then he turned over sharply on his side and mumble straight into the pillow. He turned over suddenly and his eyes burst awake. 

Sitting up now and covering his face with his hands, Leo became worried. "Everything is fine, what happened?" Leo dropped his project, hearing that something fell out of place but Riario was more important now. 

Running his fingers through Riario's cold and sweaty hair, Leo continues to murmur reassuring things close to his ear, "Shh, it's fine, whatever it was- it wasn't real"

. Riario only kept his face covered, Leo could hear him try to regulate his breathing.

"Please Leave me." Leo hears him say, Riario's face never coming up from his hands.

"What? Why would I leave?". 

"Leonardo, I appreciate your company- I really do but I need a moment to..."

"Oh!" Leo understood now, "Yeah, no problem. Just, let me know or something..." With that, Leo got up and took his bird. He looked back to Riario once more and saw he still hasn't removed his face from his hands. 

A feeling of uselessness sunk low in Leo's belly, his instincts kept making one thought cross his mind:  _he isn't telling me everything, something isn't completely right._

 

As soon as Riario heard the door shut, he released his face and felt the tears fall. Warm against his cheeks and salty to the tongue, his chest tightened and he felt like he was being suffocated. It was a different and more awful nightmare, never mind him murdering Lucrezia's sister- this time is was someone closer to his heart than anybody else. 

This time, it was Leonardo up against a wall with a blade being dragged against his neck and it was Riario at the hilt. This was worse than a nightmare, it was _fucking hell._ The whole episode felt painfully long, starting out with him walking into his uncle's office like every other morning...

"I am tired of waiting Girolamo." His uncle says, swirling some brandy in his impeccably polished glass.

"Tired of what?" Riario replies, standing with his back straight and his arms clasped behind him.

"Da Vinci has become a pawn in this political game between Rome and Florence." His uncle says low before taking a swig of his brandy and staining the polished glass with his wet lips.

"I am well aware of that, your grace" Riario plays stupid.

"You do not see the problem?" His uncle asks, now approaching.

"No" Riario says, clearly missing an obvious point now.

"He is a pawn which is useless in this _fucking_ game" His uncle curses, drawing closer to Riario, who couldn't move and couldn't react. Words only tumbled out on their own accord.

"And?" Riario says, hubris coating the single syllable. 

"I need him dead." His uncle says shortly, walking back as though he is certain the demand will be fulfilled. 

"That's absurd" Riario says smiling, "I can't do that." Responding to his uncle like it was a cruel joke. 

His uncle was suddenly grabbing him at the collar of his suit, "And why not?! You are to bring me his blood in a silver chalice unless you'd like to share a grave with him!"

The scene had shifted and Riario already had Leonardo pinned against a filthy wall, a blade pressed against his neck. "I am so sorry Leonardo" Riario said, but Leonardo didn't speak, he only looked at Riario with his eyes full of hatred and confusion.

"But when this is over, know that I love you." With that, Riario let a single tear fall and for the blade to run across the artists skin. It broke and blood began to trickle then pour out and into the chalice his uncle had called for. 

It was then did Riario jerk awake, tears threatening to fall and ashamed to face the artist with a reasonable answer for his distress. When he felt Leonardo brush his hair with the softness of his fingers, he knew he was in good hands, but to process this nightmare required independent thinking and time of reflection.

When Riario told Leonardo to leave him, and the softness of his hands were gone. Riario realized that Leonardo had become an unquenchable craving. It was a horrible low without the artist's touch and he now craved to be touched again. But, that nightmare was still wedged in his mind, not wanting to finally detach and dissipate like all the other ones.

Riario looked back at the door to Leonardo's studio, seeing it closed and shadows of movement peeking out the bottom. He got up and boiled water in the kettle, never had he ever contemplated pouring the boiling water over himself, feeling it burn into his skin and purifying him from the blood of the other men and women he had to spill in the name of his uncle.

He heard a door handle turn, the creak of a door opening and the quiet taps of Leonardo coming into the kitchen.

"You better?" Leo asks, taking out a cup for himself and picking a teabag from a plastic bag.

"I'm fine, just a nightmare too hard to swallow." Riario says, pouring the water for both of them.

"What was it about?" Leonardo asks, seeing his face was still painted with worry.

"Nothing important" Riario lies, looking into his cup of swirling sugar and tea-bag.

Leonardo shifted his weight, "Is it okay if I ask you something?". Riario motions with his hand to continue.

"Do you have these kinds of episodes frequently?"

Riario swallows hard, he knew something was coming but at the moment he was frozen in words, unable to choose in an explanation that can stray from the original topic.

"That depends on what your definition of 'frequent' means" he says and Leonardo just stares at him.

"I expect the whole truth, Riario, I'm not stupid. I can tell that you're trying to hide things from me"  

"I never thought you were stupid, in fact; I think the exact opposite" Riario was sincere, he set down his cup and approached the artist.

"I think that you are the most brilliant, beautiful and talented man that anyone would have the opportunity of knowing as intimately as I do" Riario cupped the artist's face in his hands, satisfying his craving of just touching him and feeling as safe as he did when his mother was around to comfort him. 

"I'm deeply flattered, but I am concerned about what is going on." Leo persisted.

Riario drops his hands, seeing that clearly, he cannot avoid this conversation. "Okay, fine..." A pause to take a sip of tea and think about how to start.

"I have told you that my work is classified, deeply classified, and it often leads to some horrible life experiences. Mainly being that people that I trusted had now become my enemies."

"So what does this have to do with the..?" 

"I'm getting there, Leonardo" Riario didn't want to seem rude but he held up a hand in warning. 

"Ever since I first started working, I've had to deny people. Telling them that they weren't good enough, tell them how worthless they are, how unreliable they are and sometimes I told them to step away, cruelly and without mercy and often times this led to some backstabbing, ruining my name rather than my boss' and it made for some scary experiences of even being afraid to walk out after dark because someone will shank you with a piece of glass."

"So the nightmares are the experiences of the violence of some of your clients?" Leonardo asks, drinking his tea as he spoke. 

"Leonardo" Riario leaned against the counter, "I... dream of thorns" he searched for the right way to explain the complexity that had become his life. He needed for the artist to understand that absolute bare minimum if the conversation were to advance. 

"What kind of thorns?" 

"Think of a rose, why does it have thorns?" 

"For protection?" 

"Except, the thorns I see have turned and began to target me. I'm haunted by those I should've protected, those I could've been able to help and by those who will not stop until they have my head over their fireplaces. Leonardo, I have finally been able to sleep in peace ever since I came to live with you. Today was a day I got a call that worried me so much that I ended up having another nightmare, the first in days so please understand, darling, that because I am hiding from you is because I do not want you to get involved." Riario felt like he was begging on his knees, his heart was pounding and tears threatened to fall at any moment. 

"I understand more now, thank you for finally telling the truth." Leonardo says in stunned awe. He didn't speak for a while, Riario looking hopefully for something in his eyes but they only stared blankly at him. 

"Forget about it." Riario says quietly, taking his cup and placing it in the sink loudly. His heart sank, perhaps his situation was too  _real_ for someone living in a world they call their own. He loves the man nonetheless but it would just be one more thing that he must keep from him.

"Girolamo, wait!" Leonardo says, the sound of Riario's first name sounded foreign and ugly but he acknowledges the artist. "I'm sorry, I just...ugh" Leonardo groans, "No one has really ever opened up to me like that and my reaction may be the worst...." 

"Forget about it." Riario says softly, putting a reassuring hand on Leonardo's shoulder, "It's nothing for you to worry about, be happy that I at least get a break from my horrible life by being with you." adding a soft smile made Leonardo noticeably relax.

"Alright, let's forget about it and focus on tomorrow." Leonardo smiles, tugging on Riario's sleeve and leading both of them into his studio. 

 

Leo felt like he'd been hit in the face with a rock, hard. Here he was, listening to Riario open up to him, a usually secluded person who closed himself off from everyone now speaking to a wimpy artist like him and the only good thing to come out his mouth was "Forget about it"?! He wanted to hit himself upside the head with a metal mallet but he was leading Riario into his studio, waiting to present his bird. 

Leo felt hot, his palms were sweaty and knees weak. Showing off one of his creations shouldn't be as challenging as it was now, this was his friend, someone who appreciated his art and appreciated him. Riario walked calmly, a smile crinkling at his eyes but it looked like he wanted to suppress it, something was bothering him and Leo was hoping it wasn't the nightmare. 

What was actually a few seconds, felt like hours before Leo opened the door to his studio and on his cluttered worktable lay above the rest, his perfect metal bird. He heard an "Oh" from Riario, one of shock and awe as his eyes first laid on the finished product. Leo could tell that he'd noticed the change in size, and overall shape. It no longer stood on it's belly but stood on legs that retracted into alcoves Leo had carved out. The wings were neatly folded along the sleek and exposed body, the gears and sparking mechanism made it look less like an artistic masterpiece but a beautifully sleek machine with less mass than the original design and called for a constant flow of air through it. 

Leo took the bird into his hands, holding gently and extending one of the wings and looking to Riario for a reaction, seeing his eyes grow wider and the smile still wrinkling at his eyes. "What d'you think?" He asks and Riario shrugs, "No words artista, it is remarkable" Riario shifted his weight to one leg as he perches a hand to stroke at his scruffy beard. 

"You really think so?" Leo asks and Riario nods, "It is wonderful, I'm sure Lorenzo will pay you more than what he's originally offered you... Tell me, how will it rain sparks?" Riario asks, eyeing the back of the bird and noticing the small rod sticking out the back tail-feathers. Leo went into detail how a gear turned to produce heat which will scrape across a soft metal creating sparks and as the strips wear down, each has a different combination of metals to create different colors. At the end the three color bars will burn together and when they wear down, the bird will then begin to burn a firework so that it will explode over the crowd. 

"So, essentially, you built something so that it could be destroyed later?" Riario asks and Leo nods, "Why would a woman bear children if she knows they will die eventually?". Riario nods, "Valid point". For a moment there was silence, it hung heavily over the two and Leo is the first to break it, "I'd better get my costume". 

He gently brushes passed Riario on his way out, going into his bedroom where the unmade bed mixed with all the frustrating sketches he'd tried to do of other models reminded him of something greater than his artistry and talent. 

Leo realized Riario is something special, someone who cared for the art's technicalities, the brushstrokes, the machinery; someone who cared for the piece of art itself but now Leonardo realizes, he cares about the man behind the hands, the one makes those hands to do brilliant things and now, they were going to the Florentine Festival together, surrounded by people who are only looking for good liquor and a show. But, they will be together and Leo thinks a kiss under the fireworks will start things rolling. He shuffled in his closet, looking for his tightest pair of black jeans, high leather boots and leather jacket. Taking one of his old and faded purple t-shirts, he cuts roughly down the middle to the center of the shirt and cuts two thin strips down the center as well. As he held the shirt clumped in one hand, he put the two new cut strips into his teeth and pulled as hard as he could, stretching the fabric and releasing once he hears strain. He relents his harsh stretching, bringing the fabric to it's maximum. He twists it, and takes a nearby cup of water, drenching the twisted balls of stripped fabric and drenching it. In a few hours once it's dry, he will have rough and messy twists, to go perfectly with his 'artist of the Renaissance' costume. 

He steals a glance into his studio, seeing Riario cross-legged at a painting Leo had never finished which he called, "St. Jerome in the Wilderness". He never finished it due to lack of interest and spooked by his own hand panting such a cruelly thin man. He approaches Riario, "Wanna go watch a movie?" 

Riario looks up at him, "That would be lovely, allow me for a brief drive and then we can enjoy a more relaxing evening." He says as he got up and cracked his knuckles. Leo nods, clearly Riario needed a few moments to himself, something wasn't sitting right with him and Leo could smell it. 

 

Riario agreed to an evening with Leonardo but his mind was a mess, and he would never pay attention to Leonardo if his mind was as cluttered as it was now. "Maybe I can come with you?" Leonardo insisted but Riario noticed his duffel sitting sadly at the bed, "I'm going to go to the laundromat to wash and press my shirts, why don't you go out and get snacks so we make use of this time wisely." He smiles to the artist who smiles back, "Alright, I'll go get something for us, have fun at the laundromat."

Riario sighed in relief, hoping that Leonardo wouldn't think he was trying to avoid him. Riario had gathered his clothing, stuffing it all into his duffel and smiling to Leonardo on his way out the door. 

In his car, mind still going every-which-way, he had turned the radio off and listened to the gentle rumble of his car. He saw Leo walk out the side of the building going in the opposite direction that Riario intended to go in.

Riario pressed down the clutch and gently released into first gear, pulling out of the parking spot slowly and pressing the clutch again into second gear and pulling into the street. His heart-pounded, his head throbbed like his hangover had originally began and he felt like he had trouble breathing. This was normal to him when stress took over, but the only thing that made this different was that his stress circled around Leonardo. 

He didn't know where to go, he only knew a few places but he had realized that a clean-set of clothes would do him much better since he would be staying with Leonardo for a few more days. He'd never anticipated that he and Leonardo would become friends, merely acquaintances who know only each other's names but over the course of the week, they'd learned more than they should and Riario has become less and less certain of his trust in his uncle.

Riario passed by the church he'd seen last when he arrived, it's bells ringing for the conclusion of evening Mass and people in their appropriate attire exiting through the massive doors. Priests stood holding the doors open for their exiting patrons, smiling and cooing at the children. Riario pulls over and lets his engine idle as he ran up to one of those priests.

"Father, when will you be hearing confessions today?" He asks the priest, "If you'd like to arrange a meeting with our lord, do so in one hour. There is one more service after this and public confession will be open". Riario shakes hands with the priest and walks back to his car, thinking of where to go next. He sees couples pass by, holding each other closely as they crossed the street when suddenly, a car zoomed passed one of the women and her man tugged her out of the line of danger. Riario watched as the woman regained her balance on two, scared feet and her man- still holding her tightly in an embrace saying something to her.   
Riario returned his focus to the car idling beneath him. He pressed down on the clutch and shifted into first gear, pulling back into the street and turning in the direction of a plaza.   
  
  
At said Plaza, Riario took out his duffel and proceeded to a cleaners that offered cheap washing and drying in under thirty-minutes. The man at the counter happily tended to his bag, emptying it into a washer. Riario was about to step out when the man quickly reminded him of the crucifix. Riario thanks him and takes it by the cross, the chain hitting the glass door on his way out and wrapping around a finger. 

Riario held the cross and chain, looking at the gold glisten in the setting sun and the beseeching face of Jesus look more like a haunting menace than the savior of all Christians. The more he looked into his saviors face, the more it reminded him of his own time of impetuous impatience for the sweet release of death. 

It had happened very early in the services for his uncle, and it was the day he'd been assigned a very important assignment. He was told the woman was a prostitute, soiling the good 'papal' name and calling out it's many secrets and she will not be silenced. 

Riario had no idea at the time who it was, he was only given information on her typical whereabouts and trademark for luring men, which was a pair of panties that would hang from the waist-band of whatever article of clothing she'd be wearing. 

Riario had ventured into Rome that night, the same gold crucifix cold against his chest as the hot, summer air felt stifling and rigid. He'd been approached by many women, all beautiful and alluring but his focus was only on one particular. 

"Girolamo?!" A woman cries out and Riario looks to the voice. It sounded so familiar and finally when he sees the face behind it's familiarity, Riario couldn't help but notice the panties that hung from the waistband of a tight pair of jeans. 

His heart sank, he wanted to melt and never approach such a task again- his own mother, ran up to him and began fussing over how much he'd grown, asking how his uncle was and asking what he was doing here. 

Riario swallowed, his eyes beginning to tear up, he knew there was no escaping this task and that he wouldn't take any more of his uncle cruel and primitive punishment. But his mother was so much more important, she had brought him into the world, fed him, did what she could with her factory-working job but ever since his uncle broke laws to get into his 'papacy', his mother was cut out their lives, thrown into the streets. She'd lost her job, lost her home and Riario had watched from afar what this did to her. He'd pleaded with his uncle, to send her money, something to get her back on her feet since his father had passed but his uncle refused and since Riario was so young- he'd been told that his mother was worthless and didn't deserve the high respect as they did and that eventually, all mothers resort to prostitution and a life of secular pleasures that could only end in arrest, rape, or death. 

Now, Riario faced his mother and dragged his blade against her throat. There was nothing in his eyes as he looked into her dying ones and dropped her body to the filthy ground. He took the panties from her waist-band as instructed by his uncle, and gave it to him. Happy with her defeat, Riario was rewarded a new gun- his Lahti M40.

Over the course of several weeks, Riario teetered between the decision on life, or death- his mother was the next closest person to him; the only person who would accept him back into their life despite all of the crimes he'd committed. He had attempted hanging himself, poisoning himself, draining his blood- all of which were unsuccessful and only left him with the mental scars, nightmares, and paranoia. One night, he'd sat at the edge of his bed, taking off his clothing in preparation for a shower when his gold crucifix came off with his shirt and fell with a heavy _clunk_ on the shiny tile floor. (At the time, Riario had a room and bathroom to himself within his uncle's estate and almost nothing was private, when Riario was attempting suicide, his uncle was desperate to keep him and having a room next door to his with noise monitors made too much sense until Riario requested his own living space  _outside_ the estate). As Riario picked it up and looked into the face of a dying Jesus, his purpose was simple- do as told, do not ask questions, never be yourself. 

After he'd established such a mind-set, a scalding hot shower purged him of his past-self and from that point on- life was just a routine. 

Now as he looked at the face of Jesus, his mind had wandered back to the priest at church, what will he say? How will he say it so that he may be once more spiritually cleansed and be redeemed into the kingdom of heaven. Not realizing that the half-an-hour passed, Riario took his clean laundry, thanking the man behind the counter and paying him, he threw his duffel onto the leather seats in the back and took off towards the church. 

 

When he quietly entered, the ushers at the door acknowledged him kindly but still glanced up and down his run-down appearance. He lacked a suit and trousers but jeans, sneakers and a button-up seemed enough for the rest of the time in church. 

When Riario found a place in the furthermost pew at the end inwards to the aisle, a different priest began a fiery sermon, reminding the audience that God is always watching over us and offering himself to be their protection from the viper in Earth's garden of Eden.  He continues on with how God shows his protection in subtle ways like decorated war heroes, priests, nuns, bishops, the list went on in varying degrees within the Christian-Catholic world. Riario listened on, putting his hands in his pockets and feeling the familiar beads of a rosary. When he took it out, much of the chains connecting each bead was rusty and the beads were fading from the vibrant purple it originally was and becoming white. He wondered where it might have come from, if it was his at all. He thought back to the man at the cleaners, who'd seen his ornate crucifix but it was still very highly unlikely.  

Either way, he had a rosary in his possession and best make use of it. He let down the knee-rests and held to the cross, going in the order he'd been taught since a toddler in Catholic school. 

 

Leo has stopped by Vanessa's pub which was receiving it's evening crawlers, some in church clothing and others were the usuals. 

"What's up Leo?" Vanessa asks him, polishing a glass and pouring fresh liquor to hand to a customer next to them at the bar. "Nothing, tomorrow's the festival and I wanted to invite you, Nico and Zo for the fireworks show, upfront"

Vanessa laughs, "Okay, we accept but something else is bothering you" She wipes the counter, the dark wood shining from a fresh, lemon detox.

Leo let out a heavy sigh, "I don't know Vanessa, Riario is great and all-"

"Ah yes, Riario; you two are all over each other" Vanessa muses, smiling smugly and Leo squints his eyes at her, "No we're not".

"Uhm" She scoffs, "It's pretty obvious Leo, you two are a little too close for friends".

Leo chews on his lip, "'Too close for friends?' I saw you naked, I painted you one-on-one and you think that just because we're living together you assume we're in love with each other?" 

Vanessa giggles, "Leo, I know you well enough and that look on your face says 'liar'". She flips her hair over her shoulder and assists another customer while Leo sits and scratches at the clay plate that was serving him a small kebab. When she gets back to Leo, she sees that he's got a far off gaze, the same that he's had when him and Lucrezia were sleeping together. He' d been under the assumption that she was in love with him, but Leo had been dead wrong. Now, that same gaze seemed farther and Vanessa could read his face; plain as day- Leonardo is in love with a gentleman named Riario, who (from what she had seen) has the same interest in the artist. 

"I've got to go" Leo says quickly, taking the whole kebab into his mouth, "Preparations on my bird". Vanessa watched as he wove his way through the clients and out the door, going in the opposite direction of home. 

 

Riario said his final 'Amen' before looking up again and finding the church to be clearing out. He'd missed communion and peace and the priests were on their way out to open the doors for their patrons exiting. 

"Are you still looking for confession" The familiar priest stops at Riario's place. Riario looks up at him, rosary still tightly held in his hands. He began to reconsider but he felt weighed down and hoped that confession would release some of this pressure. 

"Yes."

He was lead to separate room in which there was a separating wall with a mesh window that did not allow you to see who it was on the other side. There was a kneel-er standing at the front of one wall, a chair behind the other. Riario knelt behind the wall and waited till the priest had settled, and started with the sign of the cross then did he begin:

"Forgive me father, for I have sinned. It has been months since my last confession."

"What is it that is troubling you?" The priest asks, softly and barely over a whisper. Riario could hear the cracking of the church doors being slammed shut, hundreds of footsteps of today's confessions walking and settling into the creaking pews. His mind needed to focus on his confession, it will make him feel better- he reminded himself. 

"I've committed sins that I wish to be forgiven" Riario responds and the priest sighs, "What kind of sins my child?" 

"Ones that I heavily regret doing" Riario was thinking of all the people's lives he'd taken, he prays that their souls have found peace with him and made their way to heaven. 

"Anything else? God is listening intently." The priest continues and Riario felt his knees begin to shake and his throat fill with sorrow, "I've betrayed a friend, and now the consequences would split us." 

"Do you care about your friend?" 

"Too much than I originally anticipated." Riario felt tears at his eyes, a sorry excuse of a man- crying at a confessional to relieve his aching spirit, but feeling it grow heavier with regret. 

"Is there any way you can mend this?" The priest pressed on, Riario held his lips tightly together and breathed _._

"I had come into his life, noticing the obvious that he had his full trust in me and I hid my secrets. I kept them to myself and now, those secrets will come out and none of it will end well for him or me" 

"Do you love this character?" The priest continued to press on and Riario looked up to the ceiling, silently wishing that he hadn't been asked that. He swallows hard, "Yes, I love him very much." 

"And does he love you?" 

Riario laughs a little, remembering how pathetic Leo looked when he chased after him at the exhibition party and now the tables have turned, "Yes, he does- maybe even more than I do..."

"Why does this separate you two?" 

"Father, I wish for some details to remain confidential" Riario reminds the priest.

"Nothing leaves this room except for your cleansed spirit, you may continue if you wish." 

Riario wiped the wetness from under his eyes, "We both love each other very much, but what separates us is what we do and general morals."

He sees a hand wave from the other side of the mesh screen as to go on and Riario did, "He is an outgoing, creative and positive character- I am the introverted, caged and vain character who keeps secrets from someone who has none." 

Riario felt like he'd just ran a marathon, only, he'd won the prize of feeling better about the situation. 

"This man, he seems delicate and aloof to your 'betrayal' as you had put it earlier- keep him, tell him, he will understand. Protect him at all costs because if this eats you alive so it will do to him."

Riario looked through the mesh screen, the priest now sitting back in his chair, "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbors, two 'Our Fathers' and protect your friend at all costs because this may be the first and last chance you'll get with him." 

Riario thanks the priest, he listens for the final sign of the cross and exits the room. He does as told, kneeling once more in the pews and saying his prayers silently. 

 

Leo had purchased a box of decent tasting popcorn and a few beers, he himself in the mood for a cold one and running out of money to get anything else. He is hoping that the fat paycheck from Lorenzo tomorrow can pay his rent and that any leftover money can go towards materials. For now, he stood in front of a selection of movies in the video rental store, the clerk impatiently looking at his watch as closing time approached. 

Leo's eyes caught nothing interesting, so he took the first three movies in front of him and went to check them out with his membership card. The sun had already sunk low onto the horizon, it's magnificent hues dancing in different waves of color which became cooler as one looked away. In the distance, a cloud was igniting with short bursts of light and a low rumbling. 

The cloud seemed to be coming closer and Leo hurries home, wondering if Riario will make it before the rain. 

 

When Riario stepped out of church, his thoughts were back in order and everything was clear. The only thing standing between him and Leonardo was his uncle, who was taking advantage of him as is. He hurriedly slapped the door of his car closed and fished out his cellphone from the glove box. He begins to clear everything he has that ties him to Sixtus, his phone number, disabling the tracking device, all the numbers from his contacts and sources. He then takes the protective black case off of it, and took the hilt of his lahti. He closes his eyes and beats the screen with all his strength. He hears the glass shattering, it's shards probably spraying all over his leather seats but Leonardo was more important.

Riario look the phone into his bare hands, using all of his strength to bend the thing in half. It whines and cracks at the seams, the plastic covering snapping off violently but the battery and memory sticks were still intact. He takes the battery out, and leaves his car, taking a lighter and melting the serial number off and dumping it into a sewer vent. He takes the memory sticks, burning their exteriors to a bubbling black mess and also dumping them into the sewer. He took the remnants of his phone and placed them between the tire of his car and the asphalt below.

It felt like an adrenaline rush, feeling the disconnection from his duties and may be finally being free. He knew his car had nothing on it, and no one knew his plate numbers. Taking his keys and igniting the engine, he wastes no time but steps on the clutch and shifting into first gear. He eases the car onto the phone, hearing it crack on the asphalt until he'd run over it completely. Now, he drove forward, feeling the phone under his back wheels when he stops and presses the clutch again, shifting into third gear where he will not move but his tires will continue to rotate, grinding the now piece of nothing into the asphalt and there will be very little to pick up.

Riario felt sweat beading at his hairline, his heart pounding but out of excitement- he laughs as he restarts his car "Find me now _uncle_ ". When he looked up at the sky and saw the flashing clouds of lightning. His pulse still quickened and he drives off back to Leonardo's where he will be free for the time being, before he can make his next move. 

 

Leo bit his cuticles, constantly eyeing the clock as a second hour passed since Riario had gone. His mind began to think the worst,  _maybe he's left me? Did I do something wrong?_

As the first drops of rain tapped at the windows, he hears the elevator working and he looks into the viewer of his door. Outside, the elevator doors opened and he sees Riario- breathlessly carrying his duffel and fumbling for the key in the plant but Leo opens the door. 

"You're home, I was getting worried." Leo says and Riario looks at him, as though he had never seen him before in his life.

"I was getting worried too" He says quickly, entering the flat and taking off his coat.

"Why?" 

"I lost my phone, I think it may have washed out in the laundry." 

"That explains why you didn't respond to my texts" Leo says, remembering that one hour earlier he'd sent a few texts asking if Riario was ok.

"You texted me?" Riario now asked, his eyes still on Leonardo as though he's enchanted. 

"Yeah, I got a bit worried that you were gone for so long and there was lightening and..." By then, Leo had lost his train of thought, his eyes now meeting with Riario's and for a moment, they were not in his apartment- they were some place else where it was only them. Together and truly happy. 

"I bought beer" Leo says very calmly, breaking their stares and moving to the fridge. Riario's eyes followed him and now, Leo was getting worried. 

"Is something wrong?" He asks, taking the edge of the bottle cap between his teeth and popping the bottle open. "No no, everything is fine" Riario smiles, his eyes now quickly drew their attention elsewhere. 

As Leo opened the second bottle, he watches Riario set his duffel down and sit on the edge of the bed, watching the rain outside. 

 

Riario felt like he was walking in a trance, it didn't feel real to him- finally being free after more than ten years of service. When he saw Leonardo open the door before he could, his mind immediately blanked out, no thoughts, no worries just him and Leonardo who shared an intimate moment of staring. 


	5. Chapter 5

For the remainder of the evening, Riario spent it with Leonardo but his mind wandered in and out of the movies they were watching. The artist was too absorbed into a movie that was once more _the-secret-life-that-I-had-twenty years-ago-has-come-haunting-back-to-me_ type. Indeed it was intriguing but Riario's mind still continued to go in all directions. 

He wondered if this is what freedom felt like, no routine, no tasks, no deadlines. He wondered how his uncle react.  _Oh god... How will his uncle react?!_

His fingers stiffened, all the thoughts of his mother came flooding back. At some point, Riario may have to "disappear" from the world, meaning, someone else will be sent out to kill him. It will end just like with his mother, a blade to the neck and dumping of his body in the middle of Rome for all to see. He would be called out for simony by his own uncle, anathema by the families he'd taken lives from and betrayer by the man he loved. Eventually withering away into non-existence, burning in eternal fire where no one will remember his name. 

But Riario pushes these thoughts away, he has the advantage of senior service to his uncle. He knew the in and outs of places, the protocol for tracking people and most importantly  _the technology._

He had advantages, ones that he can easily use against Sixtus. He'd taken the first step, destroying the very thing that tracked his every move. 

Now, he needed to cut up his cards, burn them, shred them so no one can trace them back to Riario. Cancelling the accounts would be too obvious and immediately put him on the radar, simply eliminating the physical cards should lessen the chances of him being found. He plans on tomorrow, within the commotion of the festival he will go someplace else and cut up some of his cards into a sewer, a garbage, flush them down the toilets- it didn't matter, as long as not one card is cut into the same place as another. 

"So what's your costume?" Leo suddenly says, the credits for the movie had begun to roll and Riario suddenly realizes how much time had passed.

"It's a surprise" He winks to the artist who smiles as he ejected the movie.

"At least give me a hint!" He pleads but Riario only shook his head, he himself still not sure what his costume for tomorrow will be. 

"Ugh, you're no fun" Leo teases and Riario only shrugs, he got up to toss out his empty bottle of beer, taking Leo's as well and returning with new ones. On the outside, he was his usual, calm and focused but in his head- the plans for severing contact were going in all directions and now, he needed to appeal to tomorrow's event. 

The first thing that came to mind was to dress up in his suit and slick back his hair to look like a 'yuppie' but then he realized that access to such clothing is all the way back in Rome and there was no time to sneak back. He continued to think, considering his options and eliminating those that cannot happen. He eventually settles on cleaning out his car, checking every crack for devices that tracked him to Sixtus, the possibility of a tracker somewhere still remained  _getting rid of him shouldn't be this easy._ _  
_

"I'll be right back" Riario states to Leo, slipping on his shoes and going out of the apartment. He could sense the artist watching him go but he needed to keep Leonardo safe, away from any threats by Rome. 

 

Leo could tell something was off with Riario, he'd been nearly absent for the entirety of a movie and now left outside. He had no clue what was going. Going to the window that overlooked the street, he watches for Riario but doesn't see him- it must mean that he remained somewhere in the parking lot. 

Going to the end of the hall of the complex, there was a window that overlooked the parking lot and there he saw Riario- going around his car and checking under it, opening the doors and looking inside. Eventually he knelt down and looked under the seats of his car, coming up with a black shopping bag. Leo looked on, seeing Riario look at the contents and coming up with a pair of long black boots. His face was far away but Leo could tell he was smiling as he returned the boots into the bag and going to sit at the passenger side. 

Leo smiled and began to walk back to his apartment,  Riario was just hiding his costume! But why did he first circle his car? 

 

Riario knew he'd found his uniform the moment he had pulled out his black boots, it was the official and 'formal' uniform that identified Riario as Count and Captain General, the other identification was his uncle's 'coat of arms'. He knew that costumes like his existed commercially but this identifying patch with a set of crossed keys defined his authority and most importantly  _gave away his identity._

Opening the glove box, he pushed his Lahti off to the side, finding his knife. It was as sharp as a razor, meant to do harm and cleanly cut through flesh. He looked to the embroidered seal, noticing it was done by machine, so the stitches were exposed at the back. He plucked every strand, cutting it and pulling from the other side. It was a meticulous process, but it insured clean lines with destruction of his identifying position. He kept bringing up the strands, cutting and pulling like he was de-veining a fish. In every way, this was a cleansing ritual- his title is now being cut and pulled out as violently as he'd been welcomed into it.

Ever since Riario had cut into Lucrezia's little sister,  he'd been rewarded his Lahti but his moral judgment stood tests of faith to his uncle. Being raised to believe that life was sacred, he'd been thrown into a world that dirtied its sanctity. 

He'd been tortured, his back was littered with whip marks, his hands clubbed until his knuckles bled- all of this because he'd made mistakes like any beginner makes. Sometimes he left witnesses, other times he did it wrong. It didn't matter, he'd still be punished. 

Now as he pulled the stitches out of his uniform, all of that will go away- he's leaving in belief of something better and it was Leonardo Da Vinci. 

He looked back to the empty shadow where his influence once was sewn in, clean and black. Satisfied with himself, he folds his clothing back up and stores it under the passenger seat. He locks his car and returns to Leonardo. 

 

Leo heard Riario walk in as he had started the next movie, the man seemed happy and greeted Leo on his way in.

"Hi." He said as he locked the door behind him. "Now" Riario says with an exhale, "Let's get continue with our evening". 


	6. Chapter 6

The following morning, the apartment was empty. Leonardo had an appointment with Lorenzo and Riario was executing his plan.

When Leo groaned awake to his phone ringing, he read the caller ID and immediately composed himself for the conversation. "Yes, good morning Lorenzo".

"Good morning Leonardo, I hope I didn't wake you." He said politely over the speaker. The surrounding background noise was silent, he was probably in his office but his voice was rather distant, probably on speaker.

"No, no, I was just..." Leo looked around quickly around the room, "I was just preparing the bird".

"The bird?" Lorenzo seemed confused a moment, "Anyways, I wanted to ask you to come meet with me in about a half and hour to go over the scheduling of your masterpiece's great reveal."  

"Yes, absolutely!" Leo bolted out of bed, still listening to Lorenzo on the phone as he rushed to dress quickly.

"Great! I am excited to see your piece for the show". With that, the other line went dead. 

 

Riario had woken up when the artist bolted out of the flat in a flurry of papers and a box containing his bird. He looked around the kitchen and saw nothing, the coffee was still drizzling into the pot and not one apple was missing from the basket. Riario figured it must have been important and time sensitive. When he stretched he'd realized today was the festival, and today would be spent on scattering himself to every corner of the city. 

He went about his usual routine: taking a hot shower, brushing his teeth and having a small breakfast. He gathered all his belongings and sorted through them one by one, looking for any tracking devices, serial numbers and any piece of identification he had- even the false ones. Within his wallet were the many false-id's he'd created, his real driver's license included. 

He knows that his uncle never had access to his car or his personal documents because Riario registered himself for his license well before his uncle's employment and renewed it every five years under the same profession: Student.

Riario was still enrolled in school, taking his classes online but his education sputtered to a halt with service to his uncle and nights when he was not working, he was too exhausted to remember his own name. Because of this registration, his driver's license remained valid.

He stared at his smiling photograph, there was still brightness in his eyes, potential to become something bigger than this and for his name to be known under the positives rather than what he's known to do: _kill._ He thought about how much his life is changing, how he could possibly return to his education to better himself and others around him. He thought about a blissful life with Leonardo, or the least a friendship that they could both appreciate.

He pockets his drivers license and scans the rest of his identifications. He gathers them into a thick pile in the kitchen sink and shuffles through the drawers for matches. He finds a pack with a few left and lights the whole thing. Dropping the lit box onto the pile of now useless papers, he watched the fire eat away at who he was. The smell cleansed his being of the sins he'd committed, starting anew, like a phoenix rising from the ashes. 

He looked to the clock, noticing that the festival's many vendors would be selling their finest and the rush of people would be enormous. Riario wants to take advantage of this. The last of the papers had burned, leaving but black ash. Riario pours water over the flame and rinses the ashes down the drain. Now, to take care of his plastic and near indestructible credit cards, debit cards and ID that tied him back to Rome. Taking all three cards at once, he finds a pair of scissors and slices one corner into the sink, washing it down into the drain.

He quickly moves into the bathroom, cutting another corner into the toilet and flushing it. Pocketing his cards, he replaces the scissors with a utility knife in his pants waistband, covering it up with his shirt.

Riario put his hands in his pocket, observing his dress for the day. It no longer held power like it once did, his authority picked and pulled and an emotional scar.

Shuffling the cards in his pocket, he felt a different piece of paper. Unfolding, it was the curly handwriting of Vanessa, who'd elegantly put Leo's number down. Having survived the wash, the numbers were still clearly legible and this will be the only number Riario wants to be known under.  

 

Leo walked quickly behind Lorenzo, who was talking with several people at once. "Yes I know that the Pazzi's are coming! They come every year why are you realizing this now!?" Lorenzo took a heavy breath, " _Fucking_ idiots!" he growls and shoos a few of the people away.  

Leo slowed his pace, feeling that he might only further get on Lorenzo's nerves. Behind Lorenzo followed his adviser, Becchi, in a maroon cardigan and thin rectangular spectacles that hung on a chain. Their steps resonated through the massive lobby of Lorenzo's offices, the foyer being cleared out to make way for a banquet of food and drink. 

"Da Vinci." Lorenzo calls to the artist, Leo sped up his pace to walk with Lorenzo as Becchi separated from them to tend elsewhere. 

"What do you have for me?" Lorenzo asks, eyeing Leo's box. Inside was the actual bird to be used for the performance and Leo stopped to unlatch the box. Lorenzo leaned in to look, his arms crossed behind him.

Revealing the sleek metal body of the bird, Lorenzo smiles and looks at Leo, "Magnificent! How does it work?". Leo explains briefly how it will rain sparks on the crowd and the gear system within the belly. 

"Can I see it in action?".

Leo shook his head, "If I release it now, it will explode into a firework and I don't have the time nor materials to rebuild it". 

"Then how do you know if it will work?" Lorenzo looks to Leonardo, his eyes squinting in an effort to see through Leo and understand why.

"I am simply hoping." Leo sighs and smiles.

Lorenzo exhales sharply. "Alright, if it works and pleases the crowd, I'll add fifty percent to your payment- if not, you will be left with only that fifty percent". 

Leo nods, looking back down to his bird and praying it will work tonight. The extra fifty percent looked handsome in addition to five hundred euros. 

"Follow me" Lorenzo instructs, turning to an elevator. Leo follows quickly, shutting the lid to the case for his bird. 

Leo had organized the area of which was to be reserved for his bird, a window overlooking the plaza at which the main celebrations were to occur. Down below, vendors were assembling their carts, laying out their small artisan crafts, fruits, pastries and a rickety truck bouncing on the cobblestones sloshing with beer and table wine. As Lorenzo tended to a man in bifocals and an obvious cocaine addiction, Leo was tying down the foundation off of which the bird was to explode off. 

He thought back to Riario, remembering he'd run out the flat without eating a thing and simply leaving the man alone. When he looked to the clock, it was beginning to tick passed noon and into one o' clock. He looked to his occupied host, whispering fervently at a man in a navy turtleneck with a large watch and sleek shoes. When Leo looked back down over the street now filling with opening vendors, some of them calling out to the people to buy their product- he eyes the door out. 

"Da Vinci!" Lorenzo suddenly says, turning to face the artist who was leaning out the balcony window. "Apologies for the many rude interruptions during our meeting but it seems that I will need to get back to you in a couple of hours"

Leonardo eyes the door again, while Lorenzo turned back and nodded to the man in the turtle-neck. "Would that be alright with you?" Lorenzo asks and Leo nods, "Yeah, I was going to get lunch."

"Then maybe you'd like to join us?!" Lorenzo says, turning to the man in the turtle-neck again who looked nervously to the artist. 

"I think I'll pass on that offer, I'm taking out my friend so... don't want to ditch him." Leo smiles sheepishly and Lorenzo nods.

"It was worth a try; we can discuss your schedule before the festival in a few hours". Lorenzo offers a regretful grin, "Meet me here in four hours, by then I should have everyone out of my hair." at this, Lorenzo looks through the corner of his eye to the man in turtleneck. They both share a stifled laugh and Lorenzo finally allows for Leo to leave. 

When Leo stepped outside, the air smelled of kebabs and sweets. Women now set out their candy stands and children ran through the streets with kites tied to their wrists and dogs barking happily at their heels. 

But Leo had one thing on his mind: Riario. 

His guilt now set in, feeling that he needs to make it up to the man somehow and begins to take out his phone- only to groan and realize that calling was no longer an option. He decides on getting to the flat quickly, to catch him before he leaves on his own accord or gets angry or...  _these thoughts! They're not possible! Riario won't be mad, all he's ever done was be nice and accept me for what I do and contribute._

To this, Leo's anxiety fades and his hastened walk turned to a casual stroll. 

 

Riario sat at the edge of the bed, looking out the window and wondering where Leonardo could've gone for so long. He found himself missing the other man like a sick puppy, the craving for his attention alone and the horrible need to just be  _near_ him. The feelings, were not foreign but also definitely not non-existent. It would seem that such emotions were hidden away in a locked box covered with the heaviness of burden and lack of attention. 

He found himself observing the flat of the artist once more. There were scattered papers from corner to corner of frustrated scribbles and complicated mathematical scribbles. He noticed that the walls were blank and clean; even though he firmly remembered his first night and noticing that even the walls had something on them. When Riario's eyes searched the shelves of books that lay in disarray, he notices a landline hanging on the wall. 

His hand goes to his pocket where he had Leonardo's personal number. He was conflicted a moment, whether he should call or not- wondering if maybe the other man was busy and/or required privacy. 

But the day was aging, the festival was in a few hours beginning at sunset and Leo never seemed to be out this late in the day anyways. Riario picked up the receiver, hearing the dial tone and pressing down the numbers as read on the slip of paper. The tone rang now, obviously still in service. 

Riario braced his voice, awaiting for the artist to pick up. 

"Who is this?" Leo answers, seemingly breathless and confused. Riario chuckles into the speaker, "Hello to you too."

"Oh!" Leo gasps, "Girolamo, I wouldn't think it was you!"

Riario licked his lip at his ugly first name.  _Girolamo? Girolamo?! Who in this day and age names their child Girolamo?_

"I wouldn't have expected you to, see, I am calling from your landline." Riario held up one loose blue wire from behind the phone, observing from where it could have originally plugged into. 

"Yeah, I disconnected the ringer from the dumb thing." Riario noticed an urgency in his voice, something rushed and anticipated.

Leo sucked in a breath over the speaker, "I feel bad that I left you all alone at the flat and I was wondering whether I could make it up to you with lunch?" 

Lunch sounded very appealing, and Riario thought it best to allow the artist to redeem himself in order to keep peace between them. He thought back to Sixtus, how he'd thrown himself away from his watchful eye- he risked exposure at every moment. 

"Of course, a place you had in mind?" Riario looked to his duffel bag, wondering if he had something he normally does not dress in, a brighter color? A hat? He doesn't remember what he packed and certainly didn't know if there was something in the many pockets. 

Leo gave him the name of a cafe that served decent sandwiches and soups and allowed Riario the time to come. 

After hanging up, Riario quickly searched his duffel looking for  _anything_ but fails. Letting out a frustrated groan, he slipped on his shoes and left. 

 

Leo waited anxiously for Riario, walking up the cafe at which they were supposed to meet and finding a seat on a far corner on its deck. Shortly he saw the man walking across the street with his hands in his pockets and wearing the same sunglasses as the day they first met. They acknowledged each other from the distance with a smile and Leo stood up to reserve the seat across from him. 

Enjoying a light meal of soup and bread, the two made small talk about plans for the festival. 

"There aren't any organized events, everyone just drinks, eats, buys sweets and later sit back to watch the annual fireworks show" Leo explains, "Some of the schools around would perform acts from plays, the dance studio a few blocks from here perform their routines and always, and I mean always, the orchestra comes and ties the whole event together". 

"You are also a man of music then?" Riario asks the artist who wiped the corners of his mouth on his napkin, he nodded, "I dabble in instruments and composition. Not as much as art, definitely a lot less because classical music is no longer as appreciated as it once was."

"You compose classical?" Riario says with some surprise in his voice, leaning back and tearing pieces of bread.

"I did, not anymore- I'm not even sure where my compositions are; if I didn't burn them..." 

"Why would you burn your art?" Riario asks, tossing a hard piece of the bread onto a napkin. 

"It was out of frustration, I was angry with something and I threw a majority of some projects into a fireplace when I lived at a friend's place. I managed to redraw some of those projects, their blueprints or overall just completely redo them to make them better. I don't think I ever redid any of the compositions."

Riario nods, looking down at his fingers as though he was disappointed to hear that Leo didn't possess some of his own music. Leo felt guilty for burning them, never really thinking about whether someone would one day like to listen, it was mainly for his own experimentation. 

"Please excuse me" Riario gets up, crumpling a napkin and putting it next to his empty bowl. Leo watched him walk, noticing every tiny detail in his step. 

His figure, very subtly (almost unnoticeable by the unobservant eye) swayed to his step, his feet going a military precision 'heel-to-toe' rhythm. He watched his arms, moving naturally at his sides and when he turned into the door frame his fingers caught the frame and he disappeared. 

Leo replayed him in his head, every detail. He closed his eyes, imagining the muscles beneath the other man's perfect skin, his naked figure simply moving in such perfection. 

 

Riario felt Leonardo's eyes on him as he walked away, he felt it necessary to act as natural as possible. To seem so flattering to another person gave him an odd feeling in his chest. 

When he was out of sight in the men's bathroom, he locked himself in a stall and threw all the cards on top of the toilet-paper roll housing. Taking the pocketknife, he began to violently cut parts of the cards, tossing anything that fell into the toilet. He managed to tear up half of his pile, throwing their pieces away and pushing the central button. Pocketing the knife, he swiftly moves out, being sure to leave nothing behind. 

 

A heavier-set man jogged down an ornate hallway. His footsteps echoed loudly on the granite, his breaths coming short and pained but his condition was nothing compared to the problem brewing ahead. 

When he came to rest at a set of double-doors, he took a moment to compose himself before giving a rap. 

"Come in" The voice on the other side says and the man obeys, entering the densely decorated study of his boss, who stood at the mantle polishing a long and pointed dagger decorated in jewels of varying vibrancy. 

"What news do you bring, Lodivigo?" Sixtus asks, swiping the silk cloth across the blade as the man fought the urge to shout.

"It's your nephew, sir, he's off the grid." Lodivigo says, his breath beginning to steady but his heart raced.

His holiness hums, his fingers coming to play with a button on his silk suit. His eyes cast downwards to the floor, his feet coming to tap irritably. "The boy's been acting up" He says to no one in particular.

"Any predictions on current locations?" He asks Lodivigo who nods, "Florence, we think he's still with Da Vinci, sir".

Sixtus hums again, placing the scabbard on his dark wooded desk and looks to the man in front him, "Have you made any efforts in recovering him?"

To this, Lodivigo swallows, "Actually, we've made no effort." his lips quivered, "His last known location was a church in Florence, and all his cards only trace to the day he arrived in Florence, sir." 

The man looked at him through darkened eyes, "I don't think you understand the situation, Lodivigo. My nephew is a very well trained man, he knows about as much as you and much more on the inner workings of my enterprise. If you do not find him and bring him to me- it will be you whose head I will crush against this granite."  

Lodivigo nods, a chill throwing his heart into it's previous and tiring rhythm, "I will send a team of men to Florence to arrest Riario." 

"Wait" Sixtus says suddenly, stopping the other man in his tracks. "Arrest will be too obvious, and exposing our motives to sending my best man...". Both men stood silently in the vast room as cars passed below the window and other office workers dinged up and down the elevators. 

"He will most definitely be at the festival tonight." Lodivigo prompts, trying to hide his impatience and desperate need to now vomit. 

"Send a team of your men to Florence to watch Riario for me, no matter what happens- I want a phone-call me to give further instruction." 

"Yes sir."


	7. Chapter 7

When Riario buckled the last piece of hard leather onto his body, he assumed the stoic, straight posture he'd grown accustomed to and associated with this uniform. Now, far away from the presence of his uncle, Riario breathed for the first time and did not feel the overwhelming power that resonated. 

Sitting down at a stool before the counter, Riario waited for Leonardo's phone call. The artist dashed out on him again, apologizing for his neglect thousands of times and promising to meet him in the city square after he is finished. 

Now, Riario drank a glass of ice-cold water and assumed his character. He was to be someone he wasn't, he was a ruthless man, horrible, even. Like an adolescent boy desperately looking for growth, Riario felt like he was flexing in a such a way into an empty space of his own thoughts. 

He thought back to what he had done in the past, the lives he'd ended, the ones he'd ruined. He knew he would never be forgiven but, any inkling of promise was all he had left. 

He wondered if his uncle would come looking for him. Surely he will- with an army.

Maybe he would convince the artist to come with him on a 'vacation', away from Florence for a few weeks, until Riario could figure out his next step. 

God! If only he'd thought about this sooner and not gone in passion to destroy himself in the face of one of the most powerful men in Rome, maybe in Italy. 

But Riario still remained curious, why did his holiness look to get closer to the artist?

Was it for his connections with Medici? Is his holiness looking to use the artist for his own personal gain?

_What does he want with Leonardo Da Vinci?_

Since when did he take interest in someone as,  _worthlessly simple,_ as an artist striving to be engraved into history?  _  
_

Riario looked around the flat, the usual clutter remained from when he first came a few days back, some replaced by other things. He ventured to the artist's bedroom. 

The bed was, unmade- as expected. The closet was half open and one of everything spilled out, shirts, trousers, paper, a mug stained from coffee. Riario looked to the nightstand which was stuffed up against the corner with a single lamp, a clutter of charcoal and a leatherbound sketchbook which hung from the edge on it's spine. 

He circles the bed, approaching the sketchbook. He reached out to save it from it's desperate hang when the landline began to ring obnoxiously. Riario took the book by the spine and threw it back onto the nightstand, circling out of the room and to the phone. 

"Hi, Riario" the artist says, "I'm about ready to ditch his royal highness in about five minutes, meet me by the fountain?" 

Riario looked to the time, the artist was rather quick, or he was trying to get away from Medici as quick as possible. 

"Of course artista, I'll lock the doors."

After their good-byes, Riario swept across the flat momentarily. He settles on the pocketknife protruding from the pocket of his discarded trousers. He looks back at the clock, and back to the pocketknife. Sitting on the bed and taking the pocketknife, Riario fiddled with it between his hands, occasionally taking out the hidden blades. 

The festival was not limited to Florence and he knew that. What if something were to happen? Did someone in Rome already figure out Riario is off the grid? If they were paying attention then he should have been arrested that morning but there was nothing.

He thought about the protocol they might use. Emergency would mean _Drop everything you are doing and solve the problem_ Standard protocol would be to send in their best man to take care of it and dispose of the evidence but in this case,  _Riario was the best man._

He considers his options: gun or larger knife.  _  
_

His Lahti m40 is bulky and risky to damage if simply shoved in his breast pocket or belt. He remembers a larger knife that he keeps in the trunk of the car that was retractable and slim, it could easily fit somewhere on his outfit without giving itself away. 

Riario thinks back to the artist. 

_How safe is he?_

Then he thought,  _When will I tell him?_

Sooner or later, Riario will have to admit to Leonardo that his original intention was to spy on him. 

For now, Riario shook such thoughts from his head- everything about the situation is still in control and tonight; he felt, he and Leonardo shall be happy for the first time together. His eyes scanned the flat again, landing on something shining in the late afternoon sun. 

Walking over to it, prepared to cover it- Riario sees the golden chain and crucifix. 

He is reminded of his faith, his morals and his love for both God and Leonardo. Taking up the cross, he held it in his hand again; feeling its weight and familiar texture. Riario closed his eyes, remembering what the priest at the confessional told him, "...keep him, tell him, he will understand. Protect him at all costs because if this eats you alive so it will do to him". 

Shaking his head, Riario was at ease for the reassurance and today, he felt he will need that extra strength. Putting the chain around his neck and dropping the cross into his shirt, he now discreetly wore what he had been lying to for so long.  

On his way out, he disconnects the landline's ringer and locks the door. 

 

Leo waited anxiously for Lorenzo to finish his pep-talk with all his employees. Leo had no choice but to stay, the man was going to pay him today and it would be best to remain with good behavior in order to ensure that everything will go smoothly. 

Leo didn't know what Lorenzo was going on about, the rest of employees too, but they diligently stood and clapped at the end. Once dismissed, Lorenzo calls for Leonardo one more time. 

"I would just like to thank you for being able to make this year's festival the success it will be. Your show will certainly be worth your pay and for my gratitude, I would like to further fund whatever projects you are able to come up with." 

Leo fell back on his foot, "So you're saying I work for you now?" 

Lorenzo heartily laughs, "That was the plan wasn't it, you could use a man like me to make a man like you just a little better." The other man gave Leo a firm slap on the shoulder before handing him an envelope with a neatly addressed check to Leonardo Da Vinci. 

Thanking Lorenzo a few too many times, Leo folds the envelope in half and zips it securely into his inner breast pocket of his leather jacket. He hoped Riario would meet him at the fountain, he was excited to tell him of a successful project and his employment with Lorenzo. 

In every way, Leo's chest was bursting with happiness. He was going to spend an entire evening with Riario, he got paid and another successful project will be seen by hundreds tonight. 

It was sunset after Leo stepped through the rotating doors and into the busying square. Off to the side, a small fountain was now reconditioned to hold ice and cold beer. He stood on the top of the steps, looking across the boisterous crowd and trying to find the familiar face. 

"BOO!" 

Leo jumps, turning quickly towards the voice. It was Vanessa dressed in a flowing white gown with a wreath of olive leaves on her head. Her long, soft waves of strawberry blonde hair cascaded down her near naked back as she danced around him, laughing in glee. 

"Who are you waiting for? Zo and Nico are out at a pub somewhere". 

"Riario" Leo looks over the crowd again.

Vanessa seemed to notice his impatience, "He's running late?" She asks him and Leo shook his head, "I asked him to meet me by the fountain". 

"You two are really something" She smiles, tapping her cheek once. 

"Oh, are we?" Leo looks down to the shorter woman, her bare feet dancing around the artist's as she picks up her flowing shawl and giggles, "What makes you say that?" 

"Leonardo, I am a nymph, I know everyone's secrets because often-times, they aren't even aware of them". 

Leo smiles, "That's clever". He doesn't think Vanessa is serious, or knows about his immense liking for Riario.

"If I were you Leo, I'd take what I can hold and keep it forever because another opportunity for such greatness will not be possible once it has passed."

Vanessa then rounds Leonardo one more time and walks to a few other girls identically dressed. 

Leo turned away from the group of girls, looking over the crowd for Riario when he sees him. 

The man sliced through the crowd, his expression menacing and threatening, he was a whole different person. His costume was the darkest from those around him who wore soft blues and browns but this man was a walking shadow. 

Leo, even though he knew he was permitted, couldn't tear his eyes away from him. Riario walked with an air of reason and authority; he seemed too convincing to just be acting. The artist stepped down to the fountain, taking an ice-cube into his hand to rub the melting water over his hands. It seemed as though his senses were running on high alert, every smell, every sound, every sight and every noise had intensified in the last few seconds. The ice cube running in his hands reminded him to stay grounded, he tried to focus on the sensation of the cold all while keeping an eye on the man walking towards him. 

The artist's heart leapt up in his chest when Riario finally made it through the crowd, his broadened figure approaching Leonardo. He softened, in the familiarity of a friend and smiles and offers a hand. 

Leo takes it, smiling brightly back, "You look... amazing". He couldn't stop himself from offering such an extravagant compliment but the other man looked down bashfully, "Thank you artista, you yourself are in tasteful attire". 

"God" Leo smiles at the man, "What are you exactly because I was staring at you while you walked in the crowd and your eyes just sort of-" Leo looked through the hood of his eyes and dropped his smile, trying to replicate the seriousness in Riario's face as he was walking beforehand. 

Riario chuckles quietly and says in a playfully deep voice, "I am Lord Girolamo Riario, Count and Captain General of the Holy Roman Church". Leo was amused, giving a pat on the shoulder. 

"Like I said over lunch, there aren't scheduled activities- more of 'enjoy what you like and drink as much as your mortal body can digest.'" Leo explains, guiding himself and the other man through a group of men in drunken song. 

Riario slowed his pace, his walk turning into a stroll as the artist; confused, also slows. 

"Seeing that this is a festival to honor the past, I believe the star of the show should tell one of his reserved audience members some detail about himself" the man in black smiles, licking his lips and noticing Leo's obvious smirk from being cornered. Riario had a point, he only knew him of his art; nothing of his personal life. But Leo thought there should be an exchange, because Riario was just as mysterious to him as he was to the artist.

"You're right, under one condition- you also need to tell me your story." Leo says, putting two fingers against his lips; awaiting for the other man to decide.

Riario lets in, "Alright fine, so that it's only fair".

Leo took this as a compliment, that the other man was generally interested in Leonardo's prior endeavors and childhood, it was like speaking to someone close and trusted.

Walking in aimless shapes throughout the crowd of festival goers, laughing together through funny memories and spotting five other men dressed like Riario and bearing the same title- the bells in the old clock-tower rang joyously, spreading a mix of chimes of varying pitch to alert the crowd of the coming speech and fireworks show to begin the main festivities.

"Oh dear" Riario says, his tone of voice light-hearted and joking, "I have little to no idea as to where we are." Raising his eyebrows and looking around, Leo took his hand. 

"You forget that you're with the master of Florence, c'mon" Leo says enthusastically. Hand in hand, they sprinted through the streets of Florence towards the Medici Corporate Building. 

 

Several men stood in a uniform U-shape across large distances surrounding the crowd. They had been placed at these posts minutes ago with specific instructions to find Girolamo Riario. Some have never seen the man, but were handed an identification image with general descriptions. Standing and watching the crowd, through their earpieces they heard Sixtus' instructions:

"Find him, follow him, and invade the residential location when it is empty. Find anything on Lorenzo de Medici and/or Da Vinci's connection to him. I want anything that could be useful. Report to me his every changing movement for the rest of the evening". 

"Yes sir." some of the men responded into their earpieces. As the speaker muted, the bells continued to ring and a fanfare erupted at the front of the Medici Corporate Building. 

As the crowd rushed inward, one of the men notice two men; one in leather and another in black, sprinting towards the front. Referring back to the identification picture and physical description, the man safely assumed the one in black is Riario. 

Taking a step forward, he spoke into his earpiece, "I believe I have visual of 'Girolamo Riario', accompanying him is a white man with short brown hair and a leather jacket." 

"The other man would be Da Vinci." Another spoke. Three out of the five stationed collectively agreed.

"Good" His holiness returned to the line, "Now move in closer and get better visual. A-1, as soon as you've gotten close enough; begin recording video evidence- Riario will no longer be given mercy but a proper trial."

"Would that mean your jury will elect whether he is fired or killed?" Someone says over the pieces. Sixtus' connection shifted, "Absolutely". 

 

Leo held tightly to the other man's hand as they cut to the front. The massive doors to the front were beginning to open as the fanfare declined to welcome Lorenzo and his family. 

The crowd parted, allowing a small parade of men to pass. Everyone knew that these were the Pazzi's, coming to strike an old settlement as tradition dictates. They stop before Lorenzo, awaiting to be invited onto the steps.

"Good Evening!" Lorenzo shouts over the tittering crowd which now held their breath in anticipation. "I welcome you to one of Florence's oldest and most celebrated festival of the year!" The crowd erupts in a static of noise, settling quickly when the smiling ruler motioned to quiet. 

"Florence has experienced many a great years, some not as good as others. But to this day, we stand tall, and proud, and filled with the joyous Florentine spirit in the heart of where it all began so many years ago. Honoring a past on which we've struck the first stone, our costume and themes shall bring back such happy memories of the beginning and remind us to continue building this great city!"

The crowd once more bursts in ripples of noise, some chanting, "Long live Florence" and others shouting incoherently. Either way, Riario looked all around him and never thought that he would once more feel the immense happiness coming from the current atmosphere. His hand still tightly held behind the artist's back, he looked to him and saw that the artist's eyes wandered elsewhere.

Up ahead, Leonardo spotted Lucrezia. She wore a different costume this year of blues and greens; feathers resembling those of a peacock and her eyes were cast seductively in the artist's direction. Tonight however, Leo had a different date, one that he trusted would not fail as it did with her. Shifting his eyes, he sees Vanessa and Nico, smiling at each other and then turning to him with a thumbs up. It seemed that Nico had also placed bets that Leonardo and Riario would eventually come together like this. 

Leo looked back to the Pazzis who now joined the Medici's, kissing Clarice Orsini on the tops of her hands and shaking hands with each of her daughters until finally presenting the traditional flame, "The Pazzi family entrusts Lorenzo de Medici with this new fire, struck on stones from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher."

Lorenzo said a few quiet words between them before looking back over the crowd publicly thanking them for keeping tradition and honoring their ancestors. 

"And there is one more person who I would like to thank" Lorenzo's voice echoes. 

Riario gave Leo a slight squeeze. 

"Tonight's extravagance could not have been alone. Special thanks goes to my teams, my family and one other person who's show will fill you with awe and inspire you with the Florentine spirit: Mr. Leonardo Da Vinci". 

The crowd applauds politely as Leo waves a hand over his head and nods at Lorenzo in thanks, giving the signal to light the flame. 

"Now, with thank-yous aside and everyone ready to get on with the night- the fireworks please."

Leo watched as the light in his designated spot blew out and a small spark ignite. He knew that surrounding the festival was a circle of fireworks, ready to explode after the bird takes flight. Crossing his fingers and feeling Riario squeeze his hand in anticipation; there was a squeal in the silence. 

Leo looked skyward where a streak of light shot straight out and and wings flapping. Sparks began to rain as the first smaller fireworks began to ignite. 

The crowd oo's as the bird whirred and flew straight over their heads, popping fireworks sounded in the distance. The sky suddenly burst into light, hundreds of colors all raining down on the crowd and the bird zooming in between these colors. It's sparks flying with the colors of the fireworks. Everyone's eyes followed the bird, it shot skyward, all difference colored sparks raining down with the booming of the fireworks. 

In brilliant reds and golds, the bird explodes with a massive  _bang._ All the fireworks now went off, overpowering the cheering of the festive crowd. 

Leonardo turned to Riario who laughed and smiled up at the sky, staring in amazement at the energy and beauty captured. 

Now, the artist acted naturally and on his own accord. No amount of reason will stop him in his next move.  

Letting go of the other man's hand, Riario notices and turns, "This is beautiful Leonardo, this is gorgeous and amazing!" He yells over the noise and Leonardo smiles at the man's reaction, "There's something else to this I'd like to get to". The other man looks to Leonardo. 

Leonardo wrapped one arm around the slender waist of his love, holding him securely in his grasp. Bringing his head closer to the other man's they both closed their eyes and for the first time felt each other's lips touch. 

First, it was just the feel of one another's touch against the most romantic of places but both then moved closer to mold against each other. Riario, entranced by the sensation; brought his hand against the artist's chest and the other cupping the back of his head. Leonardo held them both in a tight embrace, their lips now opening for greater passion. He felt like he was floating, there was no one around and all sound was muffled as though frozen in a tiny bubble reserved for just the two of them. 

People around them pushed with the energy coming from the beginning of festivities and the now dying fireworks. The spell was broken and Leo and Riario part, "You don't know how long I've waited for that" Leo laughs into the other man's shoulder. 

"Do know that I also had my fair share of patience" Riario says. 

 

"Sir!" A-1 almost shouts as his camera equipment recorded. 

"What! What is going on?" 

"Sir, Riario and Da Vinci are kissing!"

"Kissing?!" Sixtus' voice deafened the ears of those listening. 

"Yes sir, live video feed will load in two minutes". 

"Follow them, I need him in my office in Florence tomorrow!"


	8. Chapter 8

Riario's senses were overwhelmed, the artist's lips on his mixed with the excitement of the people around him gave way to lightness in his emotion and relief of finally letting go. 

The artist, as Riario couldn't help but notice, was an incredible kisser. Riario had spent time with women in the past, for the most sinful of reasons and only a few for romantic ones but the artist... He was full of a different passion that Riario had not yet been given the opportunity to feel. 

Now, in each other's arms as the crowd dispersed to observe the delicate dances from the Theatre Groups and drink up on cheap wine and beer; Riario wanted nothing more than to be in the artist's embrace as he was now, forever. 

Leonardo pressed his forehead against the other man's, "How are you?" 

Riario smiles, dropping his head onto the man's shoulder and inhaling the unique smell of the artist, "Amazing, now that we've finally shared some intimacy." 

Leo passed a hand down Riario's body, feeling the sharp edges of his clothing. As a costume, it seemed too convincingly built for the purpose of dress-up but then again, even Leo mutilated his own shirt to get the desired look. 

Looking around, Leo's eyes locked with Lucrezia's who was staring intently and with disgust. She obviously wasn't happy that Leonardo had moved on and with a man rather than a woman but he wasn't bothered by her sulking and jealousy. She will find someone one day, but it will not be Leonardo. 

Riario took notice of Leonardo's wandering gaze and followed it, stopping into an empty space. 

"What is it artista?" He asks, but Leonardo shook his head, "Nothing to worry about". 

"But you seemed worried."

Leo looked into the other man's eyes, "Just a mistake that came back to bite me, but I bit back." 

Riario clenched his jaw, momentarily flooded with jealousy for the possibility that it was a past lover. The other man noticed. 

"Calm down." Leonardo smiles, taking up the other man's hand, "Would you think I would leave you now? After all we've been through and endured to get to  _this_ point?" 

Riario believed the man, it was foolish to assume such a thing; especially  _this_ early on. 

"You're right," Riario says, rubbing his thumb across the artist's hands, observing how delicate and soft they were, "We've all made mistakes." he murmurs.

But Leo didn't hear him, as he tugged the man away from the assembling drinking games. 

Leonardo began to smile and laugh as they approached a small space where people were dancing to an upbeat tune. In pairs, the attendants swayed their hips to the fiddle that lead the main melody. An aged cello accompanied the melody, bringing rhythm to the whole dance number and a few guitarists, banjo players and percussion all stomped their feet in unison as the people on the dance floor followed their rhythm. 

Hand in hand, Leo took Riario to the center where the lanterns around them illuminated the whole floor. 

"On three." Leonardo says, taking a grip on Riario's back and holding his hand up; Riario mimicked this.

"One" Leo's shoulders bounced as he matched his rhythm to the song. 

"Two" Now he brought the other man closer and paid mind to his foot placement. Riario braced himself, beginning to feel the music in his feet that now tapped to the rhythm. 

"Three!" Leo giggles, kicking his leg out and swaying the two of them hand in hand to the melody. The dancing crowd had now become densely packed as more people joined. The band playing began to yell out musical commands, some yelling to go faster and others simply doing on their own accord as the rest desperately tried to keep up. 

For a moment, Riario felt as though he was away from himself. He saw himself in the dancing crowd, laughing and smiling with an equally gleeful Leonardo Da Vinci who led the both of them through this massive mess of a dance, but the mess of it didn't matter. 

The happiness captured in these moments made up for all the other times of sadness and immense sense of uselessness.

Now, Girolamo Riario, was finally happy.

It seemed like only moments when they had first begun dancing, but when Riario looked to the artist, a sheen a sweat gleamed in the lantern-light.  

"That was fun." Leonardo says, clasping his hand into the other man's who breathlessly nods. 

"AGAIN!" The crowd cheered, everyone still recovering but demanding another go at tiresome enjoyment. The musicians took a swig from their flasks and counted down once more, adding instruments one at a time to build into another melody. 

"Again?" Leonardo asks. 

Riario took his hand, positioning his other one on the other man's waist, "Absolutely". 


	9. Chapter 9

Leonardo and Riario stumbled into the empty and cool apartment. Having danced for over three rounds and dizzying themselves to laughter, they were thoroughly done with the festival and ready to retire. 

For a fleeting moment, Leonardo stole a craving glance at the other man. Riario looked up momentarily, seeing the artist's eager stare and pursed his lips. Something about his gaze tonight was not the same as the other times Riario had noticed him watching. 

Tonight, the artist's eyes were consuming him, undressing him from the head to toe and Riario was spurred with every intention to satisfy. 

"Something tells me..." Riario says, beginning to unbutton his heavy leather vest as slowly as possible, "...that you want something." 

Leonardo seemed to freeze, his eyes never leaving the other man's. For a second, he seemed to contemplate his next course of action. 

"And I do." The artist says. Riario was taken, flattered and gravely aroused.  

He could feel the lust in his partner's eyes as every part of his body was being scrutinized and devoured. The man stood taller, trying to gratify his admirer's eyes with more to look at and explore. 

Riario let the vest fall to the floor with a soft  _thump._ He knew that with it fell his mean of self-defense. "What would that be?" Leonardo did not falter, his eyes now locked onto the other man's.

Leonardo did not hesitate, his eyes now locked onto the other man's as they stared for a quiet moment, no sounds but the muffled music playing from the festival they had just stumbled from. 

"You're a smart man." Leonardo says, taking a step closer, "I would hate to give up the answer before you took a shot at it yourself". 

Riario, who had been looking down at the man's approaching step, looks back up with hooded eyes. 

"I would like to make the same observation." Riario states as he undid the other buttons on his shirt, "You're much more direct than I am, I'd hate to spoil your fun."

Leo's lips quirked upwards into a smirk, "Then use your power of observation and take a guess". 

Riario now realized the game they were playing, Leonardo leading the question cards while he was to answer and with every answer more hints would be given. 

"I have never seen your eyes take survey of my body as it does now." he says, getting to the last lower buttons, the gold crucifix now glittering in the soft light. 

Leo took another step forward, "Maybe you're just that interesting."

Riario swallowed a pool of spit at the thought of him looking interesting to another person, and to someone as precise as Leonardo Da Vinci. 

"Do enlighten me." he says, taking this time to also back away, to savor the attention and plan his next course of action of what would come, or what he _assumes_ would come.  

Leo followed in the same step, "It would be appropriate to start from the obvious..."

"The day we met, you wouldn't give me your full name or your purpose of business." 

Riario looked back to the artist's feet as they followed his, gaining less distance. 

"And does that matter?" 

Leo's relaxed fingers now twitched, as though he was thinking deeply and his thoughts coming forward onto the canvas of this conversation. 

"I was interested to know who you really are."

 _And you still don't know_ Riario's mind told him. 

Leo continued, "You refused to dance with me, even as acquaintances, claiming you were forbidden by whom?"  

"I was on business there as much as you were for your exhibition" 

"Is modesty really the issue now?" 

Riario felt exposed in that moment, finding the unfairness of being the only one undressing. A childish thought but fair to the situation. 

"Then I'd like to see you defy modesty." 

Leonardo winks, "I see now". The artist took a step back and gripped the neckline of his shirt. 

The darkness in the man's eyes gave Riario a chill, his nerve endings sizzling in the atmosphere of desire and his own longing beginning to strengthen.

"You do?" Leo asks, his mouth curling into a smirk and passing his tongue over his teeth. "It's not important anymore what I see or not, what is important is if you consent to what I would like to offer you?"

_Now this was definitely what Riario had been assuming._

Riario swallowed his spit again, "I trust you, you already know that." 

"How much?" Leo asks again, this time taking another step towards him, longer than the first. 

Riario had now backed into a wall, both of them now realizing the mutuality of their desires.

"Enough to make me into your masterpiece." 

Moments after those words had come from the man's lips, they became smashed against another's belonging to the ever-so-delicate artist. 

They kissed aggressively, hungrily, desperately battling over the satisfaction of the other's wishes. Their hands were all over each other, Leonardo's jacket slid down his back and fell to the floor, Riario's shirt now completely unbuttoned barely held to his sculpted shoulders.  

Every part of them ached, their bodies looking for the relief they wanted so badly and coming up empty as their hunger only increased. It was Leonardo who let out a desperate moan into the other man's mouth did they momentarily stop.  

Shocked for a moment, Riario stood pressed up against the wall as Leonardo's cheeks burned a bright red.  

"The walls have ears" Riario whispers, their lips just shy of an inch away.  

"The bed sounds more comfortable too." Leo cracks a joke to erase the embarrassment.

"Your call artista." 

As though nothing had stopped them, their lips were once more on each other, their hands equally as busy as they made their way to the closest bed available.  

Stripped each other of anymore clothing, they landed into the softness almost completely naked.  

Leonardo held a finger up to Riario's lips when they parted, both dusted with pink, "Now... allow me to make you into a piece of art"

~#~

The poppers and fireworks from below woke the two men from their light doze. Beneath the covers on the cooling night, their hands were entwined, both relaxing into each other's touch. 

"You are..." Riario smiles, staring at their fingers playing with each other. 

"Lightly said." Leonardo chuckles, turning to the face the other man and using his free hand to brush Riario's black hair back. 

They were both silent, listening to the festivities several stories below theirs. Poppers, cheers and music all mixed into one static noise that was quiet enough to not disturb the tired spirit. 

Riario was that tired spirit, sleep beginning to take him away but his focus on the other man kept him awake to see him breathe and blink into the darkness surrounding them. 

He was truly content, he had the man he so loves, shared the most special of nights with him and best of all-  _no one commanding him about._

Riario brought the two of their hands up, kissing the top of Leonardo's before burying his face between the other man's side and the bed, "I love you" He says. 

Leo looks down at him, seeing how tired and worked out he is before the words registered. 

"I love you too." 


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning, neither Leonardo nor Riario wanted to get out of bed. But the sweat that had dried onto their bodies demanded a shower but the two still bickered lightheartedly at each for who would leave first. 

The clothes strewn about the apartment left little assumption to what had happened the night before, anyone who would walk in would know exactly. 

"What a mess." Riario states when he sat up in bed, observing his surroundings as Leonardo stood up to stretch. 

"I've had worse." Leo returns, "I've managed to keep it tidy not to disgust you". 

Riario threw a pillow at the man's naked back, who chuckles and threatens to throw it back. 

A knock on the door signals their end. In a moment of panic, Leo quickly puts on the pair of trousers off the floor, kicking the clothing to the sides while Riario quickly padded barefoot towards the bathroom. 

Leo answered the door, "Good morning." 

"Do you have your rent Da Vinci? Or should I turn off your heaters to scare you?" The man in the doorway says, his voice grim and demanding. Leo scratched the back of his head, "Can I get it to you this evening? I still need to cash in my check from work last night." 

The man seemed to contemplate, a moment passed when he agrees and leaves. 

"I guess that takes care of this morning's plans." Leonardo laughs again, looking back to Riario, "What will you be doing while I'll be robbing the bank?" 

Riario shrugged, "I'll keep myself busy one way or another". 

"What about lunch, will you be busy during lunch?" 

He shook his head. 

"Cool, I'll meet you back here and we can cook up some lunch for ourselves, heard it was supposed to rain today." 

Riario nods and the plan was set. Leonardo took the shower first while Riario made the bed, picked up the clothing from last night and brewed them both a cup of coffee.

As he tidied, his eyes caught that of a shiny object beneath the bed. Bending down to pick it up, he realizes it was the heavy crucifix he wore so proudly. But now it had been forgotten, which was very unlike of Riario to do so. He took pride in his possessions, he would care for them as well as himself sometimes but now a symbol of who he was was lying under the bed, almost forgotten.

"I modeled the internal structure of my bird after that." Leo says suddenly, stepping out of the bathroom in a fresh pair of jeans.

Riario looked up at him, "You find creativity in everything."

Leo tossed his towel over his shoulder, "I'm an artist, it's what I do".

Riario gave a sad smile, "You do so much more than that."

He'd just realized how much had changed...

Before, he was convinced that what he was doing was right, helping his uncle extend his influence through a middle-man artist. But now, after experiencing the true intentions of both spectrums, he no longer saw the right in continuing to help his uncle, but rather pursue his own interest instead of someone else's.

"I don't think I ever gave you a proper compliment last night." Leo states as he put on a shirt which was in a deep shade of purple, almost like onyx.

Riario turned his attention to the artist, "For what?".

"That costume, uniform, whatever it was... You looked damn good in it".

The man blushes, "I could only say the same for you artista".

Leo smiles at him, "I'll meet you after I get back then, won't take me long, I promise." He says, raising a hand as he swore to keep his end of the agreement. Approaching the other man, he gave him a soft kiss on the forehead and went out the door, waving one more time before closing it and proceeding into the elevator.

 

Leo left the building, saddened that he had left Riario behind but he was still in a light mood. The day's plan was to relax and enjoy the company of one another as soon as both of them tended to whatever responsibilities they had.

With his hands in his pockets, Leo walked down the main road where some public service-men were cleaning up the cups, confetti and kazoos from the streets. Taking a look around, Leo notices that Vanessa's pub was open, a few people entering to continue the party.

"Good morning Leo" Vanessa greets him at the bar, "Want a drink?"

Leo shook his head, "I appreciate it but no. I'm going to the bank".

"That would explain the get-up." Vanessa smiles, observing that Leo had managed a more civilized wardrobe for the day, "Or is it something else?".

Leo chuckles and shakes his head, "No, not Riario, but I bet you saw how well it went with him yesterday?" 

Vanessa giggles quietly, "Yes, I'm happy for both of you... speaking of which". She set down the glass she had been wiping dry, "Lorenzo's brother is  _perfection_ ". 

Leo sat at a stool, "Is he now?" interested in what she had to say. 

Vanessa nods, "Oh yes, Guiliano de Medici had been eyeing me for a while now". 

Leo's mouth opened in an 'o' as he gently pushed her back, "Why haven't you said anything?!" 

"You're not letting me finish". 

Leo silences himself. 

"We, you know..." Vanessa prompted with her hands and Leo smiles wide, "And?!" He urges. 

Vanessa licked her lips, "Delectable." she says simply. 

Leo offered her a high five, "Well done Vanessa, never thought you'd bed the great Medici's brother!" 

"It wasn't just that... He invited me to his office on the other side of the street and our conversation strayed from casuals to getting to know each other and he gave me lots of compliments, describing what he thought of me and how much he'd fallen in love with me..."

"And all of it was true?" Leo asked, folding his hands over the counter. 

"There's a look in a man's eye when he's telling his lady the truth, and I saw it in him last night". 

Leo thought back to last night, how much contact they had shared both with their eyes and their bodies, never did any of them falter in that same gaze; all of it was out of love for one another. 

Vanessa sensed the artist's distance, "What about you and Riario? I missed you guys after the fireworks". 

Leo looked back to Vanessa, "Our agenda's were similar." 

Vanessa smiles and punches him playfully on the shoulder, "Don't leave an eager audience waiting, how was it?!" 

"Amazing" was the only word Leonardo could say, last night was the single most, spiritually-connecting experience he's ever had. Never had he felt the deepest connection to another person in his life, he'd never felt the same passion as he did from Riario and he was  _convinced_ that they would never split because that same could be said for his partner. 

Vanessa looked out the shop window over Leo's shoulder, "I see it's beginning to rain." 

Leo looked behind him, seeing the sidewalks becoming dotted with the droplets of water. "I'll see you later Vanessa, congrats to you and Guiliano I only wish the best. I'll see you some other time, tell Nico and Zo I said Hi". 

With that, he dashes out into the rain and begins to walk briskly to the bank. 

 

Riario was out in his car, packing away his outfit from last night back under the passenger seat and checking over what needed to be maintained. 

"Damn" He cursed, resting one hand on the lip of the open bonnet. His car's coolant was extremely low, he hadn't bothered to check it in a long time but in the interest of the health of his car, he scrabbles what money he could find in his wallet and hidden away in his glove compartment to get a bottle.  

Wiping his hands on an old t-shirt he kept in the trunk, he locks his car up and walks into town. He figures he'd either find a store himself or ask someone.

The grey clouds of coming rain rolled lazily on the horizon, threatening to get closer and wash the still hanging smells of festivities away. Riario had his hands in his pockets as he walked down the sidewalk. His thoughts were on Leonardo, his hands, the way his lips curled when he smiled, the softness of those lips; how tantalizingly gentle they had been when they shared their first kiss under the sounds and lights of fireworks.

He was unaware of the only pedestrian on this block jogging behind him. Quickly, the suited man threw his hand over Riario's mouth, muffling his shouts of surprise. Riario's instincts kicked in, he threw his hands back onto the man's neck and gripped tightly as he hurled the added weight over his own head. With a loud thud, his attacker groaned in pain. In that momentary pause, dozens of other suited men swarmed Riario. 

He fought back with all he had, giving a few men broken jaws, broken shins, sore crotches and bruised noses before one of them struck a hard blow to the side of his neck, immediately knocking him unconscious. 


	11. Chapter 11

When Riario came to, he was being carried by his shoulders through a dimly lit office building. None of it made sense, he had little idea of where he was and where he was being taken. His feet dragged behind him, still heavy in his dazed state. 

When his captors turned into a large room, he knew where he was. 

Dumped roughly onto the carpeted floor, he heard the click of the door being shut and a familiar set of polished shoes coming before his eyes. 

"Uncle" he says, getting up. Every bone in his body cracked as he stood up, flicking the stray black hair back as he looks into the eyes of his uncle. 

"We always end up here when you misbehave Girolamo." The older man before him turned his back, walking to the desk at the far end of the room. 

Riario clenched his jaw, keeping his body as stoic and empowered as his dignity allowed him. This was not first time he had been dragged to the feet of his uncle for some eccentric reason, and it certainly wouldn't be the last.  

His uncle perched himself on the edge of the desk, crossing his arms over his chest and wrinkling the impeccably smooth silk suit. The man's tie clasp glistened in the cloudy sunlight that came through the long stretch of crystal clear windows.  

He licks his lips, "Would you please explain to me why you think you had been dragged here in such a 'dignifying' manner?"  

Riario knew this tactic, his uncle had been using this since he was a boy, getting the truth out of him through guilt.  

"In all honesty, I don't know". Riario cocked his head to one side as he awaited a response.  

"Don't play stupid" His uncle spits, "There is no way you are walking out of this room without an answer."  

"I guess I would have to run." Riario says with equal fire. His uncle's temper was beginning to brew, he could see in his eyes as they had suddenly settled on staring into Riario's.   

The guards standing by took a step forward, sensing the electricity now buzzing between both men. "Stop the games Riario, I know what you've done."   

Riario stood silently, his face expressionless and every part of him giving away none of his surprise.   

"Did you think that by destroying your phone and your cards, and erasing yourself from the world would take you off of _my_ radar?"   

Riario remained silently. This only aggravates his uncle more, "Answer me boy!". Again, he remains silent.    

"Fine then, if you won't listen this way, perhaps another."    

With a snap of the man's fingers, two men in suits wheeled a portable television set to the side of the room. Pressing play on the cassette player, Riario watched in shocked horror as the tape played a distanced recording of him and Leonardo pushing through an excited Florentine crowd to the front where Lorenzo de Medici stood just yards away.    

He watched it all, the fireworks splitting the night sky into magnificent colors and the moment when he and Leonardo locked eyes before their lips came together.  

The video paused, the lines of static signaling a further continuation of this torture.  

"Could you explain that?" his uncle demands. Riario swallowed hard, there was no way he could lie, his and Leonardo's face were clear as day on the recording.

He shook his head. 

His uncle pressed play one more, this time the tape had cut to him and Leonardo stumbling to the artist's apartment in a fit of laughter and smiles. The camera panned upwards to look through the balcony window where, moments later, Riario and Leonardo had come through the door and they shared a few moments of intimate staring. 

The whole room was silent, the VCR whirred in action as Riario and Leonardo shared a passionate kiss against the wall. The tape continued to play as the two men fell onto the bed and Leonardo began to devour him in kisses and affection.

Riario's eyes welled with tears, in those moments he hated himself, he hated himself for being so ignorant and so naive. 

"Stop the tape." Riario commands, and the screen shuttered to a stop when Riario took to coming on top of the artist to share another kiss. His face as clear as in a mirror staring into the eyes of the artist who's hands had come to stroke the top of his naked back. 

Silence hung in the room as his uncle set the remote down on the desk. 

"You know Riario" he began, "You have committed many stupid errors in your career as my hand and I committed myself to bringing you up in a world where the only thing that matters is what you are told to do and not what you want to do." His uncle extended a hand, pointing to the paused picture on the screen, "Here is a prime example of an error that you have committed." 

Riario swallows hard again, and licks his lips. He was angry with not only himself, but now with his uncle. "In my eyes I do not see the error I have committed".

His uncle scoffs, "Please, you're nothing but a boy. You stand before me, boiling in anger that you'd been caught doing something you shouldn't and now you will find every possible way to make me the enemy." 

Riario blinks, "There is no need to make of someone an enemy if the enemy is the man who stands before me."

His uncle's smirk drops, "Respect me _boy_ , I allowed you to be on this planet and I can certainly take you out." 

"The person who allowed me onto this planet is dead, by my hand."  

"Forget about your whore mother Girolamo! She was nothing but a pest!" 

"A pest that you fucked and impregnated." Riario spit back, every word dripping with venom.  

Every word he uttered was the whole truth. His uncle was his father, blood, flesh, and bone. His father was consumed by the greed and thirst for power when he stole the 'papal' crown from his brother. When word had come out that Riario was his illegitimate son, his uncle turned around and disowned him as a son and took him in as a nephew to safeguard his power and position in high society.  

And Riario's task to murder his own mother, was to silence her from telling the truth.  

Now, his uncle was boiling, his face beginning to turn a shade of red. "Your task was simple, idiot-proof, ' _find out what Medici is up to, Leonardo Da Vinci is one of his connections'. Never did I say to fall in love with him and let him fuck the living daylights out of you. What do you have to say for yourself Girolamo?!"_

Riario licked his lips, "Oops". 

His uncle took a deep breath, "I have forgiven you for many of the mistakes you have made but by far, this has to be the worst. I am arresting both you and Da Vinci under suspicion of conspiracy, both of you will be jailed". 

At this, Riario snaps, "You will not lay a finger on my artist!"

"It's too late, I will no longer listen to you as I had in the past... Guards, arrest him." 

Riario stood motionless as the men around them began walking forward with handcuffs. When the first man touched his bare wrists, Riario broke out in a fit of punches. He didn't care anymore, he needed to protect Leonardo at all costs. Guards collapsed in heaps of pain from the blows that Riario had given them. His mind did not see anything other than the intense need, and desire to protect Leonardo. If he could not protect his mother, he now had the chance to protect his lover.

In his momentary delirium, he ripped the car keys off of a guards belt and ran for the door, bursting through the weak wooden frame, he ran with all his strength. 

Guards chased after him, barely keeping up when Riario threw them off. He dashed down the stairs, opening the door to the second floor and slamming it shut before continuing to run down the flight of stairs and going into the parking garage of the office complex. 

He knew every car by their keys, finding the one that fit the one he'd stolen and taking off. 

 

Alessandro della Rovere stood awestruck at the display that had just went down in the middle of his Florence office. Riario was not himself, driven by his need to protect the low-life artist, had beaten down six men and stolen the keys to one of their cars. 

"What now sir?" A guard breathlessly asks. Sixtus rubbed the massive stamping ring on his finger, "I want him dead or alive, I'll handle it from there." 

 

With tears threatening to fall, Riario drove the stolen car up to random building and threw the keys on the sidewalk as he ran in the direction of Leonardo's building. He hoped the artist wasn't home, to give himself time to think of a good reason to take the artist out of Italy, as far away as possible from his uncle and possibly never return to this beautiful city. 

When the elevator finally stopped at the top floor, he breathlessly ran to the door and found it slightly ajar. With shaking hands, he pushed it open. 

To his horror, the entire apartment was in shambles, a massive mess of sketches, paintings, brushes and charcoal pencils. Never in his life did Riario wish he was dead as much as he did now. In Leonardo's studio, while no paintings were harmed, they lay on the ground like abandoned trash. 

In mute shock, Riario stepped over the wreckage of a shattered glass of paint-water. He looked around, seeing his bag on the other side of the room, his clothing in tatters and most importantly, some of Leonardo's journals ripped down the middle. 

The place was sacked, in search of information on Leonardo's connection with Lorenzo. Riario circled the living room, coming up the window where the balcony jutted out. At the foot of the bed he saw a familiar face. 

In the pile of papers and journals, Riario recognized his own face on a clean sheet of newspaper. His image, all in his likeness was like a perfect black and white photograph. The lines of his face, the detail in every strand of hair and the shape of his shoulders all were masterfully done by the hand of a true artist. Now, tears fell and ran down his cheeks. 

He wanted this to end, he wanted to have nothing but a life of happiness with Leonardo where they would live and work together; each supporting one another in whatever efforts. 

"Oh my god" He hears and his head shot up, Leonardo stood in the doorway surveying the damage. In that moment, Riario had broken. He knelt down with his head in his hands, the drawing still gripped between his index and middle finger. 

Leonardo stood in the living room, looking around, "What the fuck is this?!" He says, laughing angrily. "Who did this?!" 

Riario looked up at the man, appreciating what he was able to look at until he will be cast out. 

"I haven't been completely honest with you Leonardo." Riario admits, wiping the tears away with the heel of his palms. 

Leo turned, "You did this?!" but Riario shook his head, "Sit down artista". Leo obeyed, sitting down on the mess of the bed. 

Riario summoned all his will-power, his legs shook and for the first time he was afraid, afraid of the man in front of him; what he might say, or what he would do. He was afraid he will lose him. 

"First and foremost, I love you, I love you with all my heart and soul, my dying wish would for you to be by my side. Never had I experienced such happiness than when I am with you, never will I experience the same happiness with anyone else." 

"What's wrong Girolamo?" Leonardo asks, standing up. Hearing his first name being used so sweetly, so tenderly, it's like it was a lullaby. 

"Sit down Leonardo, please, for me."  

And Leo obeyed once more.  

Riario took a deep breath, a single tear falling again, "I only came into your life, because my mission was to watch you, and to understand what Lorenzo de Medici is working on. My boss, sent me to do this because I am not just Girolamo Riario... I am Girolamo Riario; Count and Captain General under Alessandro Della Rovere, of Rome".  

Leonardo was silent, taking it all in. 

"I was sent to spy on you, and report everything that you did and in the beginning; it was easy and I thought I'd walk in and out. But you..." Riario smiles painfully at the thought of Leonardo's kindness and love which would shortly be taken away. 

"But you were so kind, so full of affection and fondness of the world around you, you've taught me to see myself differently, to see the world differently and from that, I've realized my wrongs and what I have been doing to be slowly killing myself." The man's usually composed and gruff voice cracked with every word. The sadness overwhelming him. 

There was no response from the artist, "And now, I am so deeply sorry, but because of my wrong doing, I am afraid I have put you in danger and have lost all of your trust." 

Riario rubbed his hands, he was frozen from head to toe and waited for Leonardo's response. 

The man stood up and approached him. Riario was shuttering in grief, as much as he wanted everything to be the way that it was, he repelled the artist that approached him. 

"Please Leonardo, I deserve nothing" But the man seemed to ignore him. Leo's lips were on Riario's now, filling him with warmth and comfort that it will be okay. Riario melted into this contact, savoring it for as long as he was allowed to.  

Riario followed Leonardo's lips as he began to tear away but they eventually separate.  

"Get out".  

Riario's lip quivered, fresh tears once more threatened to fall and all hope in his heart was crushed.  

"Didn't you hear me? Get out" Leonardo says sternly.

Riario took a shaking breath and nodded, "Understandable".  

When Riario stepped out into the hallway, the door behind him shut without a word.  

His lips still tingled with their final kiss and his heart beat was an aching throb in his chest. Everything about losing Leonardo is just as horrible as losing his own mother. The thoughts of dying invaded his thoughts again, thoughts of finding peace in a world existed only to those that are dead comforted him as he walked down the sidewalk of a nearly empty street.

A few people bustled back and forth through the light rain. Riario allowed himself to soak in it, he didn't care, he wanted nothing more than to disappear.  


	12. Chapter 12

Standing against the door, Leo listened to the retreating footsteps. He feared the worst. 

Leo locked the door and let out a held breath. He felt horrible, like a part of him had suddenly been ripped away. His mind was scattered, filled with questions for the man but his anger had taken over and forced him out. 

Scratching the back of his head, he looked around his messy flat, the papers scattered everywhere, a broken paint-water cup running water into the grain of the wood floor and the sketchbooks he'd collected over the years all on the floor in disarray. 

He picked up the shattered cup, pieces of it falling into the puddle that collected below. He looked at it and saw that only large pieces were missing, something easily repairable with good glue and a new paint-job. Picking up the rest of the pieces, he placed them on the counter and set about tidying up. 

Leo picked up every sheet of paper, creating a neat pile on the edge of the bed, he found old sketches, some he completely forgot about. Others he'd sketched more recently. 

He'd gotten to the sketch that he'd seen Riario holding before he walked in. It was that of when Leo stayed up, watching the man sleep and sketching his beautiful proportions, his muscles and the relief of his face. 

He found himself worrying his lip, how much he regrets what he has done. Looking around the flat he sees Riario's duffel. The one he neglected to take with him before being thrown out. 

Leo stared at it for a good long moment, thinking of what to do with these belongings. 

He could... Track down Riario in a few days and return the items, using that opportunity to apologize for his actions but even then, the other may not return his feelings. 

He could also just keep the bag, waiting for  _him_ to come and claim it once tensions cooled. 

_But why would he come back for a bag of clothing? Is there something more in that bag?_

The artist's curiosity got the best of him. He brought the bag to him and shuffled through the contents. 

_A few shirts, some pants, a change of shoes... What's this?_

Bringing up the gold crucifix, Leo remembers fondly how the man wore it the night before, and how he found inspiration in the collapsing chains to build his flying bird. 

 _He'd probably want this back..._ Leo thought. Putting the chain around his neck, Leo zipped the bag and tossed it into an empty corner; to be remembered later. 

As he walked around his flat, gathering what had been dumped, he fingered the crucifix. He felt the texture of the chains, the relief of the dying Jesus and when he went into his bedroom, he sat at the corner of his bed and found himself staring into the eyes of a dying man. 

Leo was never a pious man, nor did he believe in any God. But, he was staring into something that a lover of his found precious and dear. The crucifix will forever be a testament of what could have been, and what should be. 

Suddenly, the artist's phone rings. 

"Yes, hello?" He answers into the speaker. 

"Do not hang up! Is this Leonardo Da Vinci?" The man on the line said. 

"Yes, yes, has something happened?" Leo was worried, the urgency in the man's voice made his heart jump. There were people in the background yelling for an ambulance.  _God something's happened._

"A young man with black hair, he's been in a horrible accident." 

 

Riario was walking down the street, defeated and upset. He had nowhere to go, and he didn't have anywhere to hide or stay for a night until he could figure out his next course of action. 

He walked aimlessly, weaving in and out of alleys. Going nowhere. His thoughts never strayed away from Leonardo, and his mistakes. He thought of everything his 'uncle' told him to do, how much people suffered under his hand and how many saw his face before sinking into a heap of lifelessness. 

Now, having been close to one of his potential victims, the emotional and moral punishment dampened his character, he wanted to restart everything. He wanted to do something from the beginning to prevent this from happening. 

For the first time since Riario left the artist's flat, he looked up towards where he was walking. He saw the familiar cathedral and a priest welcoming in the afternoon parishioners. 

The rain had begun to tap more aggressively, moistening the dry sidewalk. From across the street, Riario recognized the priest, the one who consoled him a few days before. It seemed as though the man on the other side also recognized him, giving a friendly wave.

Maybe it was the divinity of God, beckoning Riario to come and find solace in a holy house, or maybe a man who understands more than Riario does. 

Riario wasn't a pious man, nor did he rely on the will of God to conduct his actions. He was a good man, finding some comfort that somewhere in the heavens someone would accept him for who he truly was. 

"Come my son!" The priest called out to him, taking a few steps down the stairs and waving a hand. Riario put his hands in his pockets and gave a pained smile before coming out from between the buildings. Looking both ways before crossing the street, he began to cross, quickly shuffling. 

"Stop!" Someone cried out and Riario did, looking to his left and in mute horror seeing the grill of a car just inches from his face. 

For a second, he was airborne, his body in no control whatsoever. He felt the weightlessness of falling, flying through the air. His mind thought to birds, how they glide through the air so gently, then his mind returned to the artist. He thought back to his smiling face, his gentle hands working, and the masterpieces he could produce so easily. 

Landing with a hard thud, and skidding on the pebbled road, he felt throbs of pain beginning to sharpen with every heart beat. 

He felt nothing but numbness in his arms, legs, fingers and toes. Turning his head, the car continued to speed towards him. The flurry of church-goers ran behind it quickly, trying to stop the radical driver from going any further. 

Two polished, black shoes stepped in front of Riario's eyes. The priest. 

"Stop!" He shouted, "Stop this madness!" 

The car kept revving forward, revving into second, third, fourth gear. Riario heard the familiar shift in gears, and whines of a struggling engine. 

"STOP!" The priest yelled over the shouting crowd of people who threw their bags and stones at the back of the car. 

Riario watched in paralyzed fear as the car continued to approach. He shut his eyes, waiting for his impending death. Maybe then he would be at peace, free from the horrors he'd caused, and he solidly hoped that Leonardo would be happy. A single tear fell as the screeching of tires skidded to the side of his head and around, continued to drive quickly on the other side and away. 

With his injuries, Riario heard a high-pitched ringing in his ears, deafened by his blow and some extent of his injuries. He opened his eyes and saw police officers running in every direction, some taking off after the driver in their own cars as the priest now stood over him. 

Riario watched the man's mouth, unable to read what he was saying. 

"My pocket." Riario muttered, turned his head in the direction of the desired pocket, "The number... Don't take no for an answer."

He felt nothing as the man quickly dug into his pocket and took out the piece of paper. The edges of his vision was darkening and he fought to keep from submitting. If there was any chance to see Leonardo again, it would have to be this way. 

"An ambulance! We need an ambulance!" Someone shouted and the priest hastily dialed the number on his own phone. Riario turned his head in the direction of the pursuing car and swallowed his blood, it had to have been his uncle. 


	13. Chapter 13

Leonardo was in panic, listening to the cries for an ambulance and the wailing of sirens. Something horrible has happened, and  _to Riario._

He hung up quickly, throwing on a sweater from nearby and barely remembering to shut the door behind him as he ran down the stairs of the tall apartment complex and out the door. 

The nearest hospital was just a few blocks away and Leo couldn't bother to hail a cab. He took off on foot. 

Sprinting down the rain-soaked sidewalk, he pushed passed people that looked at him oddly but the tears in his eyes blocked out their stares. His heart was racing, every thought in his mind had been replaced with  _Riario._ He hated what he did to the man before all of this happened, he didn't know if he would be forgiven. Nonetheless, Leo only wanted to know that he was alright. Riario was his Achilles heal, his biggest weakness and the artist needed the simple comfort of knowing that he was alright and alive.

He saw the hospital ahead, the looming building shrouding the coming angry cloud of rain. 

At the front desk he breathlessly asked for Riario, and the woman at the desk saw the frenzy of worry in his eyes, "Sir please calm down!" She urged him, her expression strict. Other patients looked to the distressed man with great distaste but Leo couldn't will himself to calm in any way.

He was going to run to the ambulance unloading deck, but then, Leo saw _him_. 

Riario on a stretcher, his face swelling in bruises, and blood dripping from a gash near his head. He looked weak, and was un-moving. His eyes were closed as his head rocked with the direction of the stretcher, he looked lifeless. 

"Girolamo!" Leo cried out, catching the paramedics as they wheeled him to the emergency room, "Is he alright, what happened?!" 

"Sir, we need you to move out of the way and let us work if you want us to save him."

"HE'S DYING?!" Leo exclaimed breathlessly.

"Sir, PLEASE!." The paramedic urged and continued to push past him.

Leo is ripped away by a security guard, who restrained him tightly. 

Leo watched as the man he loved is wheeled into a room, doctors rushing to him. He whimpered in defeat and sobbed. 

 

"What do you mean you couldn't catch him? He is a man, he can't possibly outrun a  _car._ " 

The man took a deep breath, "The police got to us, and people from a church started to attack us. And a priest stood over his body, I couldn't hit the priest."

The Alessandro della Rovere pressed his fingers to his temples, "My instructions were clear, bring him to me dead or alive."

"But sir, we could've been arrested, this whole operation would fall." 

Sixtus considers this, "If he is alive, and he reports us, we're all doomed..." He gave a moment of silence, "Prepare a car in the next hour, I'll take care of my son the right way." 

 

Riario knew he'd fallen unconscious at some point in the ambulance. As soon as he closed his eyes, the paramedics panicked and began relaying dangerously sounding numbers. Riario smiled to himself, even if he did die, he has the certainty that when he is gone, the artist will live peacefully. 

He fell into a dream rather than a nightmare, seeing all the happiness that ever happened in his life. He saw his first day of school, when his mother waved good-bye to a bright-eyed student beginning primary school. He remembers his high school graduation, a young and thin valedictorian delivering a speech of good luck, thanks and hope for the future. But the scene shifted, he was in his apartment, beginning to put away some clothing when his uncle suddenly stepped in, "I have a job for you."

Riario watched as his own character agreed to hunt down the described person. He saw him get dressed, in a seemingly harmless ensemble of a black suit and a grey shirt. He had a gun fastened to his calf and another stuck into the waistband of his trousers. He watched him walk out the door, consulting his phone for location information. 

The scene shifted and now, Riario was the character. 

In his hands was the tear-filled face of Leonardo, the artist was crying and begging, "Please, please, please Girolamo...". And Riario could not piece together what was happening. The artist was sobbing, tears running down his face and begging for life. 

Riario couldn't do it, he knew he couldn't. This was a man he loves, this was a man he admired for everything he does, he could not bring himself to kill the innocent soul.

"I'm sorry." His character said, but Riario's mind screamed  _let him go you monster!_

A silver blade dragged across the man's fragile neck and blood spilled onto the suit. The artist's warm blood painted Riario's suit crimson black and his mind screamed in terror. 

 

He awoke with a sharp inhale of breath, his side aching with the sudden action. His eyes were met with bright-white light, his mind scattered and disoriented. 

"Riario." Someone sighs in relief next to him. When he turns his head, it ached and felt sore. His eyes struggled to focus. Blinking a few times, a blurred silhouette slowly came to focus. 

He groaned as a headache heightened his pain. Breathing felt struggled and restricted. He moved a hand over his side, feeling bandages rather than his own skin. He felt pulling on the side of his head, like his hair was being pulled by each individual follicle. 

The first word he uttered was, "Ow." when he made an effort to sit up and further investigate his physical state. A hand gently urged him to lay back down. 

Pain shot up through his spine and into his head, his muscles tensed up and he felt completely restricted. Letting out a struggled groan, the pain began to subside once more. 

"Not yet, doctors didn't want to give you meds until you woke up." 

Riario turned towards the voice again, and his vision failed. Lights were too bright, and he only saw silhouettes of colors and figures. Reaching out with one arm, he felt the fabric of a shirt and he moved upwards, feeling the warmth of a neck. Once he gained feeling of a jaw, he knew that beneath his hand was Leonardo. 

"Artista!" He sighed contently, feeling the stubble and the warmth beneath his hand as his cheeks filled for a smile. 

"God you had me worried! I thought you'd never wake up!" Leonardo said, and Riario returned his hand. The simple task of holding it up was straining him. 

Riario took a deep breath and felt pulling, "What happened?" He asked, remembering only the car and the ambulance. 

"You were hit by a car, crossing the street. Doctors were amazed that you survived."

"How bad was it?" 

"I don't know but you're here, you'll get better and everything can go back to the way that it was." Leo took the ailing man's hand in his, "I promise, as soon as they let you go, we're going home."

Riario felt a pang of regret, Leonardo was promising so much, even after what had happened. 

"You still trust me, even after what happened?" He asked and the artist laughs, "Nothing happened Girolamo. I thought about it and, I can't turn away a good thing just because it went through a little hell to get here." 

Riario felt a smile come to his lips, he was grateful for the man's forgiveness and now he had every intention to keep himself alive. 

"Thank you, Leonardo, I am blessed. What a shame I can't see your face." Riario tries to joke and the two of them chuckle quietly. 

"Yeah, doctors said you'd be blind for a day or two- from the gash on the side of your head and the blow causing stress on your-"

"-Don't get too technical." Riario said, trying to find Leo's shoulder but missing, "I can barely process my own movements." Another exchange of giggles. 

Riario could feel his admirable stare, "I'm just glad you're here, awake and laughing with me again. I missed you."

"But I was here..." 

"Yeah but... When you left, I saw a cracked cup. I didn't think much of it, cleaned it up and shrugged it off. But, when I was in the waiting room, I remembered it for some reason, and it made me think..." Leo adjusted himself in his seat, taking one of Riario's hands and holding it as he spoke. 

"When something happens, we try to fix it. Whatever happened, happened- there is nothing you can do to go back and prevent it from happening so we move on." Leo took a breath and watched Riario's distant eyes search for his face again and Leo continued, "And usually, when we try to move on, we try to fix what happened along the way." 

Riario's settled in the direction of Leo's voice, and he spoke with hesitation, "I was thinking that we should start over, like we did in the beginning." 

 _So much farther than the beginning, to the day I met you_ Leo thought. The artist had all but forgotten just how much he had changed over the course of the last few days. 

His recreational opium use had skidded to a halt, he went to sleep normally and worked without the need for it. Riario, as much as he had probably changed, impacted Leo too. 

Leo felt the other man's hand squeeze his, "Yes." He heard him say, "Let's start from the beginning."

"Oh what a pity." A voice said. Both men turning towards the door of the hospital room. Leo did not recognize the man, but Riario seemed to. The grip on the artist's hand tightened, and pulled closer to the other man's body. 

"What do you want uncle?" Riario asked, his eyes staring into the ceiling but his voice strong and clear. 

The man, Riario's uncle, took a loud step forward, "I am here because if you want something done, you've always got to do it yourself." 

Leo fell back in surprise as the man revealed a handgun from the inside of his suit pocket. The tiny gun had a silencer, and was of deadly parameters. 

Leo now stayed closer to Riario, holding his hand and searching inconspicuously for the emergency button on the bottom of the hospital bed. 

"And so the blind lamb leaped into the arms of Satan, rather than to his shepherd who called out its name..." The man said, now pointing the gun to Riario's head. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 7/21/16- Hello! I know it's been about 3 months since I last updated but OH BOY was I busy with assignments, finals and now more assignments most of which I am behind on ;_______;  
> But fear not! I am here and will be updating as frequently as time and work permits me to!  
> ALSO, I am very excited to announce a second part of this story to be coming soon :D As soon as I begin writing it, I will provide a link and add it to an 'unnamed series'.  
> Please stick around if you enjoy this story because there will be lots of great stuff coming :DDD  
> Have a wonderful day :DDDDDDDD


	14. Chapter 14

Riario, a now partially blind man, can identify the sound of his uncle just by his footsteps. The man managed to walk in silently, and his voice came as a deadly reminder of what would happen. 

Leonardo had protectively moved towards Riario's injured and weak form, his hand grabbing at the underside of the hospital bed for the emergency button. Sixtus sounded oblivious to the artist's attempt at saving them, and continued to growl at them like a predator circling its prey. 

"I am here because if you want something done, you've always got to do it yourself." Sixtus said, low and threatening. Riario knew that something was wrong when he felt Leo's hand suddenly lose grip in his, and falling back slightly. 

Riario could only infer that his uncle possessed a weapon, and when the safety clicked out of place, he knew it was the infamous handgun with an effective silencer. He remembers seeing the toy in action, putting down men in empty alleyways with the slightest of echo, a sound too similar to a distant, backfiring car. 

Now the dangerous weapon is, with no doubt, pointed in his direction. Riario couldn't help but regret his defiance, and wished he would have reacted in some other way. But, his uncle... No... his father, looked to no longer wish to deal with that defiance any longer. 

"You defied me before Girolamo, and I had forgiven you. You defied me too many times and I continued to entrust you. But, after you continued to disobey me and your intentions no longer lie with me but in bed with an artist, it is time that we terminate the contract and I will no longer have to deal with you." Sixtus hissed. 

Leo struck a button beneath the bed, a siren immediately going off and ringing. The deafening screech startled all three men in the room. 

Sixtus, shocked, had let down his guard only to regain it, "You little bastard!" he growled to Leo. 

Riario felt his lover's hand slip from his and Leo yelling over the ringing. There was a shot fired, and Riario's heart quickened, expecting it to come at him... But it never did. 

 

 

Leo found the emergency button beneath the bed and struck it without hesitation. The loud, squealing siren had made them all jump, Riario's uncle letting down his gun enough to process the sudden noise. 

"You little bastard!" He said angrily, pointing the gun to Riario once more. 

Leo didn't know what overcame him. He let go of Riario's hand and bolted towards the uncle. He quickly pushed the man's arm away from Riario's head. A shot fired,  going into one of the ceiling tiles. Another shot rang and hit through a lamp. 

Leo had managed to topple the older man over, knocking the gun out of his hand. He held tightly to the man's arms, restricting him of movement. There was intense struggle between the two, Leo trying to withhold the man from continuing to threaten him and Riario, and the man who was likely to still pursue Riario for whatever defiance had been committed. Either way, Leo held him down and continued restrict any further movements. 

He was concerned for Riario. The blind man was in shock, barely registering what has been happening. When Leo turned to glance at him, he was overpowered by the uncle. 

Leo fell back on his neck, the man thrusting him away and getting up as quickly as his aging body could. Leo, even though in pain, threw himself between the older man and the gun that had been kicked away, but was too late. 

The man repossessed his weapon and set to aim it at Leo. But the barrel only focused a moment before taking off with its holder. 

Leo turned to see several nurses and doctors rush in, immediately confronting the situation in shock to the armed man. Many bolted after him as he ran through the hospital and others rushed to silence the security system.

Leo saw Riario out of bed and standing on the linoleum floor. His bare feet dragged behind him and his distant eyes shifted from place to place trying to orient himself. 

Leo got up, dusting himself off and stretching his neck before taking Riario's guiding hands, "Are you alright?" He asked.

Leo squeezed his hands, "Let's get you back into bed."

 


	15. Chapter 15

Leonardo and Riario shared a laugh when in the early morning of the third day, Riario's sight had returned. 

"A bit biblical!" Leo laughed, handing the man a cup of coffee he'd picked up from the cafeteria. 

"Too coincidental, I think the Lord is trying to tell me something!" Riario mused, accepting the coffee and admiring how the cream swirled. 

Leo sat down next to him in bed and they spoke quietly with themselves, enjoying the terribly weak coffee. 

After a particularly funny joke, Leo was the first to compose himself, "I wanted to wait until you got out but I just have to know..." 

Riario's quiet laughter ceased, and his gaze shifted to that of curiosity and concern for what his artist had to say. "Know what?" 

Leo hesitated, "Who, what and why... the uncle?" 

Riario nodded, his eyes looking back to his coffee and his lips pursing. He too was trying to avoid this particular discussion, but it would be unjust not to tell the artist of who he was and what may happen. 

He reluctantly looked the artist in the eyes, seeing their glow of color for the first time since he'd left the flat with a broken heart. 

Taking a breath, Riario began: 

"The man who I called my uncle, is not of that relation to me... He is my father." He saw Leonardo's air shift from that of interest to mortified sympathy, "My god!" He said. 

"He was never a loving and caring father, mostly because he was never married and I was a missed precaution. My mother cherished me, she saw that I had as normal of a life as I could without a decent father. Alessandro supported me, by law, and my mother worked many jobs in order to afford some type of life for the both of us. When I was in school, I had not bothered to care if I had a father or not, but I knew I had one." 

Leonardo had shifted to sit even closer to Riario, his coffee abandoned on the bedside table and his fingers picking at the skin around his nails. He was listening intently, "What made you cross paths with him again?" 

Riario could remember it too clearly, recalling the memory to almost every detail. 

"It was graduation, I was valedictorian and I stood up to give a speech. The lights were bright and hot, but I was too excited and too nervous to notice. I had annotations when I was to look up throughout my speech, and when I looked up sometime halfway through it, I saw a man who watched me too closely. Everyone was watching, but there was something in his eyes that made me pause and lose my place. After the ceremony I had walked into the audience to search for my mother, when one of the attendants stopped me. It was Alessandro but I didn't know at the time, he congratulated me, complimented my speech and offered a business card. He said, 'One of your old bosses recommended you to me, let's chat some time.'"

"How did he...?" Leo asked, prompting the story further and Riario continued. 

"I had a summer job the previous year, I did lots of manual labor and I assumed Alessandro would offer me something to keep me on my feet before I went to college. I was naive, young, and desperate to help my mother in every way I could." 

Leo listened to Riario pause and finish his plastic cup of coffee, "So, I called him, met with him and he revealed to me that he was my father. At the time, I was thrilled to know he was my father, and that he wanted to reconnect with me. I found myself being drawn into his complex business agenda, looking to overthrow his brother who owned the dominating bank in Rome. My mother, was elated that Alessandro had turned to want to help us, and she allowed me to do as I did. I was trained like I was in the military, I learned my way around guns, combat and security before I was given my first task."

"Oh no." Leo murmured. 

"I, along with my father, approached a cabin in a quiet wood. Inside was my father's twin brother Francesco, along with his two daughters Lucrezia and Amelia."

"Oh my god, Lucrezia Donati?!" Leo asked fervently. Riario, confused, nodded, "What of her?"

"Nevermind, keep going." 

Riario nodded once more, "My father ordered his brother to hand over the ownership of the bank, and he did not comply. I do not know why I didn't stop, and I don't know why I began in the first place but when my father gave the order I took Amelia's life." 

Leonardo held his face in his hands, groaning and shaking his head, "You didn't, please tell me you're making this up!" 

Riario shook his head and continued to speak, "My father assumed the ownership of the bank, under his brother's name. From then on, I was no longer his son and only publicly known as his nephew." 

"Dear god, how long ago was this?!" Leonardo asked and Riario thought a moment, "I was somewhere between nineteen and twenty." 

"You were so young, why did he do that to you!? Why'd you stay?!"

Riario could feel himself regretting to tell his story, but the artist had to know, and it would the defining point in which their relationship will shift. 

"I continued to be of service to him like that, silencing those who tainted his now 'papal' name. He'd become so powerfully influential that they nicknamed him Pope Sixtus and referred to him strongly as such. I only kept up my service because I was getting paid, it sustained us. For a year I was not particularly good at my job, I made mistakes and took too many chances. I was punished almost primitively. I was whipped, my knuckles were beaten to bloody messes and I had been locked in a room for days on end. He forced me to live with him, leaving me unable to help my mother. He severed all of my contact with her despite my pleas to help her. One day, he sent me off with an assignment to silence a liar, and it was her."

Leonardo's eyes were watering, he was devastated to learn what Riario had done.

"I had followed through, and I couldn't bear the loss.  I took a chance at my own life but was unsuccessful. He kept me close until I built up his trust again to allow me to tread farther than Rome again. And then you were my assignment." 

"What did he want out of me?" Leo asked. 

Riario shook his head, "He had no intention of taking your life. I was assigned to you because the Medici's refused to join their banks with Rome's and I was to find out why."

"Did you?" 

"No. Nor do I care at this point." Riario said quietly, looking at Leonardo warmly, "Falling in love was not my uncle's agenda, and especially since I provided nothing for him. I didn't care for the risks it posed because you are all that mattered to me. I was stolen off the streets, told that I had put you into danger and I broke away and ran to you. Only to find your home destroyed and with no way of explaining to you why and what happened."

Leonardo's heart had shattered, "Jesus christ, so he came into our home looking for what?" 

"Obviously something that tied you to Lorenzo. After I left you, I searched for solace in a church. As I was crossing the street I was struck by one of his cars."

Leo had gotten up from the bed, his face in one of his hands, "So, he came here to finish the job?"

"He came here to see to it that anything that I know, and you know will be silenced permanently." 

The artist, in shock of the story his beloved has told, paced. 

"Both of us, especially you, need to get out of here. Our safety is at threat-"

"Leonardo, no!" Riario said, his voice slightly raised, "Florence is where you belong. You finally have a career doing what you love and with one of the most powerful men in the city. You want to abandon that?" 

Leo continued to pace, "From what you're telling me, no matter where we go; your uncle will only continue to seek you out." 

"Leonardo, there is no escaping him. He is buying off banks left and right and Florence, one of the largest, are denying him the purchase. I used to believe and support his efforts into centralizing the banks but now I see how much it has turned him into a corporate monster. That monster will eventually devour us, no matter where we are." 

"We can at least try! I've wanted to downsize my flat, we can move to Spain, France, Germany, England... Anywhere! Lorenzo has promised to support me and my creative endeavors so this could a be a chance at having a comfortable life!" Leo argued back. 

Riario swung his legs over the opposite side of the bed, his brain racking for ways on getting away from his uncle. "I can promise you that your friends, Vanessa, the lad- Nico, and Zoroaster are not under my uncle's radar. It is you, Lorenzo and I that he is worried about." 

"Are you sure?" 

"Of course, it's Lorenzo he's after. He was worried that you would be a leak, a fault in the operation that posed a threat to his own corporations. For now, we should be quiet, continue life as usual until we can think of something more rational." Riario got up from bed. He was thankful to have at least his own trousers to wear instead of the atrociously uncomfortable paper ones the hospital provided. 

We walked to the small window, which was high enough off to the ground to see the famous il Duomo of Florence far in the horizon. Leo joined him, his fidgeting hands in his pockets. He rested his head against the other man's shoulder and sighed, "You're right. I don't want to leave this." 

Riario nodded, "It's spectacular." 

"So are you..." Leonardo says, lifting his head up enough to look into the man's eyes. 

Riario blinked back a bashful grin, "So, is that why you drew me?" 

Leo laughs, "I never intended for you to see those!" 

"Why? They're amazingly detailed and wonderful."

"They're like little school-girl doodles of the boy she fancies!" 

"I didn't know that little school-girls can draw men with charcoal and newspaper." Riario said teasingly. 

Leonardo, defeated, continues to laugh, "I drew those when you first spent the night, I was mesmerized by the shape of your face, your back, your hair... everything! I took so much inspiration from you." 

Riario blushes an intense red, at a loss for words at the artist's compliments. "And you taught me how to live again..." Riario said softly, almost to himself but Leonardo heard.

They stood facing each other, as though on a nervous date. Leonardo's eyes had locked onto Riario's affectionately, taking in the details of his weak and healing form. 

The man before him looked thinner than usual, his face slightly more sunken and the bruises healing in nasty shades of reds and blues. He was paler, the hair in his stubble a dull dark grey and his hair dull from neglected wash. Riario didn't look like himself, wrecked by the actions of the man who employed him. 

Leonardo felt committed to the man before him, even after the story he shared with him moments ago. He saw the suffering as a path that led them to be here, in the hospital, sharing a space so intimately. 

Leo had his share of unjust treatment by his father and a missing mother. He'd gotten into so much trouble with the law just for existing and now that he's found success, and a man to share it with... The future looked extremely bright. 

The artist shortened the distance between them, bringing his hand to cup Riario's jaw. Just to feel that he was there, and that he himself was there. With everything that has happened, it was relieving a miracle to know that they are both still alive, with many years of potential ahead of them. 

Riario closed the distance completely, taking Leo's hand and pressing an assuring kiss onto his lips. 

It was hard to break away, the two drawling out the affection that they so desperately wanted to express from the beginning. 

Leo was the first to stop, gently wrapping himself around the bruised body of the man he so passionately loved. 

"You'll be alright." Riario said softly against his shoulder, burying himself into the crook of the other man's neck. 

"No." Leo said, " _We_ will be alright." 

They stayed in each others embrace as long as their time allowed it. A nurse interrupted them to deliver some better news. 

"The doctor estimates you'd be released sometime this afternoon. He just wants to check over a few things and then you can be on your way." She said sweetly, leaving a clipboard with an attached medical survey. 

Leo offered to fill out some of it as Riario paced and occupied himself with tidying everything in sight. 

"Jesus Christ, I know we're in a hospital but if you want a sterile room, the operating room is downstairs." Leo teased as he handed the clipboard to him. 

Riario chuckles, "I was blind, let me have my fun!" 

Just as they finished giggling through funny medical questions, the doctor knocked and entered the room. 

Riario's stitches were inspected, bandages changed and given a vision test. He passed them all with a relieved smile. He had been looking forward to getting out of the hospital as soon as the opportunity had risen. 

 

Leo and Riario walked arm in arm down the street. Leo complained about the cafeteria food, "Those rice cakes were the blandest, most disappointing things I've ever eaten!" 

"I didn't think so..." Riario said quietly, clearly remembering his previous times of illness where rice cakes was all that sustained him.

They both stopped at a busy street, waiting for traffic to thin out before crossing.

"You know..." Riario mused, looking up into the sunlit sky, "I had missed being able to look at the sky and only think of how beautiful it is."

Leo lead them both across the street as he asked, "Why do you say that?"

"I used to think of the sky as a 'final destination'. Since we can't really see heaven, I'd decided that anything above the sky and space was where we go... And we keep watch over our loved ones."

The artist paused to look up into the sky with him, and analyze the other man's words.

"I'd hate to say my faith is non-existent, but even then there are questions not anyone but the dead can answer." 

Riario giggles, "Maybe that's why they are dead. They knew too much." 

Leo playfully shoves the man aside, "Stop it now! We are going home and you're having a shower." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello friends!  
> It honestly pains me to be updating so scarcely. There is not a day that goes by where I don't think about this story, nor the next (which will be coming asap)!! But alas, school has become ever-more demanding and takes my time away from even the most mundane... 
> 
> My New Year's Resolution was to update more frequently, so expect A LOT more to come out of this story. Some more stuff is supposed to happen and I hope you all stick around :)
> 
> Thanks to all who have left kudos, bookmarks and comments! As well as a BIG THANK YOU to anyone reading this far! You're the real MVP, staying with us even when the hiatus lasts months at a time. 
> 
> Hope your holidays and breaks fared thee well and I will talk to ya'll in the next update!  
> Toodles!! (╯✧∇✧)╯


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